The Baby
by xoxoRuflyGirl
Summary: Hope discovers she is pregnant, but being pregnant so late in her life, will be risky. A Hope and Aiden story.
1. Chapter 1

_**The Baby**_

 _ **Chapter 1:**_

It was the 4th of July, and Hope and Aiden were hosting a party in their backyard. They had closed the deal only two weeks earlier, and weren't even fully moved into it, but they figured a 4th of July party was just the thing they would like to have to welcome everyone to their new home. It would also serve as a housewarming party.

"You've spend all this time setting up for the dinner tonight, why don't we take a break and go get some lunch?" Aiden asked, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms tightly around her.

She smiled. "Just let me put the balloons and banner up, then we can go get something."

Aiden turned her around and they kissed.

"So, are you still happy with our decision to buy this one?" Aiden asked her.

Hope nodded. They had been torn between the smaller house that was closer to the school, and the bigger house where the kids would have to take the bus.

They had decided upon the bigger house. It not only had a fifth bedroom, but it had a huge back yard with in ground pool. It still had lots of room for the kids to play even with the pool in the backyard.

Hope nodded. "I love it! I just know the kids will love the pool. They won't mind taking the bus, and if they hate it that much, we can just drive them. They just won't be able to walk to school anymore."

"I like having two extra bedrooms as well. That way, if Shawn and Belle come with Claire, Claire doesn't have to share with them or sleep on the couch," Aiden quipped.

Hope nodded. "Very true."

They kissed again.

"I'll help you hang those decorations then we can get outta here. I don't know about you, but I am starved," Aiden said, heading over to the banner.

Hope headed over with him and helped him hang it over their sliding glass doors. "I'm hungry too. I'm in the mood for sushi."

Aiden made a face. "Yuck! I don't know how you can eat that crap."

Hope raised an eyebrow at him. "Have you ever tried it?"

Aiden shook his head. "I don't need to try it to know that it is nasty."

Hope rolled her eyes. "You're as bad as Ciara."

They finished with the banner, then went to blow up the remaining red, white, and blue balloons that had silver stars all over them.

Aiden blew his up easily, but, Hope was having trouble. "I never did have the lung capacity to blow these things up! I should have bought a machine to do it for me," she said.

"I'll get it for you. Anyway, you need to save those beautiful lips for what they do best," Aiden said, kissing her for emphasis. "I love your kisses," he murmured.

Hope smiled at him, and went to sit on his lap. "In that case, have some more."

He moaned as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him some more.

They stayed kissing for a moment, then Hope broke the kiss. "All right, get the remainder of the balloons blown up if you would. I'm going to go in and make sure there's nothing we need to get while we're out."

Aiden kissed her once more. "You do that, but hurry. I miss you when you're gone."

Hope kissed him again. "I miss you too." She knew it might sound silly. After all, she would only be away from him for five minutes at best. Even so, five minutes without the man she loved felt like an eternity. She kissed him once more, then quickly headed into the house to get her checklist.

As Aiden finished blowing up the last of the balloons, he couldn't help but smile as he thought of the look on Hope's face when they had first seen this house. Her eyes had practically lit up when she had seen the pool, and the size of the backyard. Immediately, she had gone into talking about all the parties they could have back here, and how much the kids would love it. She talked about maybe adding a hot tub, or a trampoline for the kids. She talked about getting a gazebo put in, and maybe putting up a tent for the kids to have sleep overs in during the summers.

It had made him laugh to himself. Their yard was huge, yes, but he didn't know if there was room for a hot tub, gazebo, trampoline, _and_ tent—not with the in ground pool already there. Still, seeing her so happy and excited over it had made his decision on which house he wanted. Whatever made Hope happiest is what made him happiest, and this was it. And heck, if she wanted all of those things, he'd make sure they found room for it all. It would be worth it just to make his baby happy.

He had carried her over the threshold the day they moved in, and then they had made love in every room. It made him even happier that they had chosen the house with two extra bedrooms.

Hope came out a moment later, and wrapped her arms around him. "Did you miss me?"

"Like crazy, Baby," he murmured, his eyes lowered with love for her.

They kissed.

"We forgot the hot dogs! We have the hamburger patties but what about the ones who prefer hot dogs?" Hope asked.

"I got one for ya," Aiden teased, pulling her closer to him.

She laughed, and slapped his chest. "Oh, stop!"

"All right, no big deal. Do we have the sodas for those who don't drink alcohol?" Aiden asked.

Hope sighed. "How do I keep forgetting the most important things?"

"Don't worry, Baby! We'll go pick up something to eat for lunch and we'll get those along the way." Aiden kissed her neck.

Hope closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying his kisses. "Or, we can just eat at the grocery store's eatery. That way, I can get my sushi that they have and you can get pizza or a sandwich. Then we can head right into the grocery section and get what we need."

"Sounds like a plan," Aiden said, still distracted by Hope's neck. "But how about we have dessert at home first?"

"Your mind is always in the gutter," Hope said, rolling her eyes, and shaking her head.

"Look in the mirror and you won't be able to blame me. Seriously, Baby, have you seen how hot you are?" Aiden asked.

Hope grinned. "As are you. But we have no time. We have a party to get ready for." She ran her hands slowly up his chest. "Now, if you're a good boy, and help me plan and turn this party into a success, the fireworks won't have to stop after everyone's gone home," she purred into his ear.

He licked his lips. "Speaking of which, I guess we had better stop by the fireworks store on the way back, huh?"

Hope sighed. "I swear I don't know where my mind is lately."

Aiden kissed her. "Don't worry about it. The mind starts going when you get old."

Hope gasped, and Aiden laughed, and ran off ahead of her before she could smack him.

"I'll get you for that, Mr. Jennings!" She tried to sound stern, but her smile gave her away. She shook her head, and chased after him, silently cursing her inability to get mad at him for long.

"They seemed to have made sushi even more disgusting than it already is. Lord knows how long that's been setting in there," Aiden said to Hope, looking at the lone box of sushi that was sitting in the sushi section of the grocery store's café. "It doesn't even look like they refrigerated it all that well. It's barely cold!" Aiden said, feeling the box.

"It's fine. I get sushi here all the time," Hope said grabbing the box. "I'm lucky I got it before this one was gone too. Everyone else must like sushi too."

"Not me," Aiden said.

Hope smirked. "So you've said."

Aiden got his pizza and then they both got their drinks, and sat down at one of the tables.

"So, who all is coming to this party again?" Aiden asked as they had their lunch.

Hope took a drink before responding. "Jennifer, Lucas, Adrien, Sonny, Will, Abigail, JJ, Maggie, possibly Victor if he can finish his business calls early, Brady, John, Marlena, and Kayla. And of course, Dad and Julie said they might drop by if they can get back into town on time."

"Sounds like a good crowd," Aiden said. "The kids would have loved it. I wonder if they're having a good time."

"I'm sure Bo is spoiling Ciara until her heart's content, which means she's happy," Hope said.

Aiden smirked. "Is her heart ever truly content though?"

Hope smirked as well. "Good point."

Aiden sighed. "Chase must be loving baseball camp. He hasn't called me in two days. I was going to call him, but I didn't want to be one of those parents who worry too much."

"We're parents. It's our job to worry," Hope said, placing her hand over his from across the table. "Give him a call. I'm sure he just got busy."

"It's kind of sad that he's growing up. There was a time not that long ago that he ever would have wanted to leave me for this long. Outside of school, we were never apart since his mother's death. Now he's off to camp for the summer, and he can't even find time to call me. He must not miss me too much," Aiden said sadly.

Hope rubbed his hand. "Darling, give him a call. I'm sure he's just having fun. You know how kids are. Even Ciara likes her time away from me. Believe me."

Aiden finished his pizza. "Maybe I will. Do you mind doing the shopping while I call him?"

Hope shook her head then wiped her mouth, having just finished her lunch as well. She got up and kissed his cheek. "Not at all. I'll meet you back here when I'm done."

Aiden kissed her lips. "Thank you."

Hope kissed him in return. "Thank _you_. Now call your son." She kissed him again, then went off to shop.

Aiden smiled as he watched her retreat. " _Man_ I love that woman!" he said to himself before dialing up his son.

"So, how did it go?" Hope asked when she came back with the groceries.

"It was just as you said. He got busy. He said he misses me, but is having so much fun. He also said he made me something that he can hardly wait to give me." Aiden kissed her. "You were right, Baby. I have nothing to worry about."

Hope kissed him. "See? He loves you. He's just excited to be at baseball camp."

"In a few days, Jeter is supposed to come for a baseball lesson. Chase said he nearly peed his pants when he found out!" Aiden said, laughing at the memory.

Hope laughed too. "That definitely would not have been good to do at camp. His fellow campers would never let him live that down."

"I know, right?" Aiden took the bags from her. "Let's get these back to the car, and then finish getting our party set up."

Hope nodded her agreement, and they headed to the car.

They drove the short drive to the house, then finished preparing for the party.

Two hours later, the guests arrived. Hope had called and asked Lucas if he would mind stopping by to get the fireworks, and he had been more than happy to oblige.

Maggie arrived first. "Victor will be here later tonight, but he's still working. I told him we have enough money so that he doesn't need to work anymore; that he should just give Brady the company, but you know him. He'll be running Titan till the day he dies."

Hope smiled. "That sounds like Victor all right. It's a shame Daniel couldn't make it."

"He has a surgery to perform. I don't know who thought it was a good idea to schedule a surgery on the Fourth of July," Maggie said. "Then again, I guess people can't help when they need surgery."

Jennifer, Abigail, and JJ arrived then, and Hope greeted them all with hugs.

John and Marlena were next, and Aiden greeted them, then went over to greet Jennifer and the kids while Hope greeted John and Marlena.

Next was Kayla, and Brady, then finally Lucas, Sonny, and Will all arrived.

"Here are fireworks. We picked out some really cool ones!" Lucas said, handing Aiden the box.

"Great! Thanks." Aiden took the box from him. "I'll give you the money before you leave tonight."

"Don't worry about it. They weren't that much," Lucas said.

"No, no. It's Hope's and my party. I insist," Aiden replied.

"We're here! The party can start now," Julie said loudly as she arrived with Doug.

"Hey!" Aiden said, hugging Julie, and then shaking Doug's hand.

"Julie, Dad, you made it! I'm so glad!" Hope ran over to them and hugged them tightly. "I was hoping you'd make it!"

"We wouldn't miss the chance to see your beautiful new home!" Julie said.

"Or my beautiful daughter and handsome new son-in-law," Doug added.

Julie nodded her agreement.

Hope smiled, and hugged them both again.

It warmed Aiden's heart to see his wife so happy. He loved her so much, and he could never get enough of her beautiful smile. He walked over to her and placed an arm around her, then kissed her.

Hope smiled even bigger, her hand gently placed on his cheek as she lovingly kissed him back.

Julie and Doug grinned at each other, and then at Hope and Aiden.

"You truly do make my daughter the happiest I've ever seen her," Doug said.

"Well, she makes me the happiest I've ever been, so I figured why not return the favor?" Aiden asked, smiling at Hope.

Hope smiled too, and they kissed again.

Hours later, when it got dark, Daniel arrived.

"Daniel, you made it!" Maggie said, holding her arms out.

"Hey, Mom. I finished the surgery early, and another doctor took over." Daniel hugged her. "I didn't come alone."

Victor appeared, and Maggie squealed with happiness, ran over to him, and kissed him. "You came."

"I couldn't let you watch the fireworks without me now, could I?" Victor asked with a smile.

Maggie grinned, and they kissed.

"Here, let me get you guys some dinner," Hope said, leading them over to the hot dog and hamburger section. Aiden was at the grill.

Lucas and Brady were up on the roof, getting ready to set off the fireworks.

Once Daniel and Victor had gotten their food, it was time for the fireworks to begin.

Aiden took his place beside Hope as they watched the fireworks. Lucas, Will, and Sonny had picked out some really good ones. There were ones that shot out like shooting stars, ones that swiveled, and even some that shot out red, white, and blue stars.

"They're so beautiful," Hope said, her back against Aiden's chest now as his arms wrapped around her.

"They are, but you're still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Aiden said to her.

Hope titled her head toward him and they kissed softly on the lips.

Suddenly, Hope broke the kiss. "I think I'm going to throw up."

"Well that was harsh. I only had one onion on my burger," Aiden said.

Hope shook her head. "No, it's not that it's…. I gotta get to the toilet." She quickly ran into the house.

Aiden ran after her, instantly concerned. He followed her into the bathroom and held her hair for her while she threw up.

"Are you okay, Baby?" Aiden rubbed her back with his free hand.

Hope threw up a couple more times, then breathed heavily. "It just came upon me all the sudden."

"That doesn't make me feel too good. You kissed me and it made you throw up!" Aiden joked.

Hope shook her head. "I think it was something I ate."

"I told you you shouldn't have had that sushi! It was bad!" Aiden replied.

Hope nodded. "Next time I'll listen to you." She threw up again, then relaxed. "I think I'm done. I feel a little better now." She took some toilet paper and wiped her mouth, then slowly stood up.

"Do you need to go lie down? I can tell our guests goodnight for you," Aiden said, already leading her to the bedroom.

"Maybe I better," Hope said.

Aiden picked her up and carried her to bed. He gently lie her down and pulled off her sandals. "You relax. I'll tell everyone goodnight for you. I'm sure they'll understand."

"Thank you," Hope said.

"Do you need your nightgown?" Aiden asked, heading to her dresser.

Hope nodded. "Please."

Aiden selected her purple one, which was right on top. "Do you need me to help you get dressed?" he asked.

Hope took it from him. "I'm fine, but thank you. I'd kiss you, but I'm sure I have barf breath."

"Like I care." Aiden kissed her. "I'll be back as soon as everyone leaves. All right? Can I get you anything else?"

"Some water maybe?" Hope asked.

Aiden nodded, and quickly went to get her a cup of water. He then brought it back to her.

"Thank you," she said, taking it from him and drinking it. "Much better," she said before setting it down on the nightstand.

"I'll be back soon." Aiden kissed her lips, then went to get rid of the company.

Everyone had been concerned. Julie and Doug had wanted to see Hope, but Aiden had talked them into waiting until the next day to see her since he was sure she was probably trying to get some sleep.

A half hour later, everyone was gone, and he headed back into the bedroom. Hope was indeed sleeping.

He went into the bathroom and got ready for bed, then he climbed into bed next to her, leaving only the bathroom nightlight on.

Hope stirred when he entered the bed, and she wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you for taking such good care of me. I love you."

"I love you too." Aiden kissed her. "You're my world, Baby!"

"And your mine. I'm sorry I don't feel good enough to reward you for all your help," she murmured.

"Baby, don't even worry about that." He kissed her. "We have the rest of our lives to make love. Right now, all that matters is that you feel better."

"How did I get so lucky to marry you?" Hope asked sleepily.

"It's funny, I ask myself the same thing every day only in reverse," Aiden replied, his eyes lowered with love for her.

He kissed the top of her head, then fell asleep watching her sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2:**_

Aiden woke the next morning to the sound of Hope throwing up in the bathroom again.

He climbed out of bed and headed into the bathroom to hold her hair back again. "You still feel sick, Baby?"

"Yes. I thought the sushi would be out of my system by now, but it clearly isn't." Hope said before throwing up again.

"I think you should go to the doctor just to make sure it's nothing more serious," Aiden said with concern.

"I think so too. This doesn't feel right," Hope said. She threw up again.

Aiden rubbed her back with his free hand. "I'll take the day off. My clients will just have to wait."

"No, I'll be fine. You can't let your clients down. They count on you." She grabbed some toilet paper, wiped her mouth, then threw the paper in the toilet and flushed it. "I'll go make an appointment now."

Aiden helped her up. "Maybe Julie can go with you then. She was concerned about you last night, as was your father."

"I don't want them to worry. I'll just call them after my appointment." Hope headed to her phone, then pulled up the emergency contacts section in her phone where she kept the number to the hospital.

Aiden got dressed for work while she made her appointment. Thankfully, she was able to get in.

When she hung up, she turned to him. "They can take me in an hour. They had a last minute cancelation."

"Good." Aiden kissed her. "I need my baby to get better. It hurts me when you're sick."

Hope hugged him. "Yeah, because I'm too sick to make love with you," she teased.

"No, no, no, no, no, it hurts me because I can't stand seeing my baby in pain," Aiden assured her.

Hope kissed his neck. "I love you so much. I'm so lucky to have you."

"Baby, I'm the lucky one," Aiden assured her.

They kissed softly on the lips.

"I hope I don't have anything contagious," Hope said, tying his tie securely for him.

He shook his head. "It takes a lot to make me sick. I wouldn't worry about it. My only concern is getting you better. Are you sure you don't need me to come along? I can go in to work late. I'll just move my appointments around."

Hope shook her head. "I'm fine. I love you for offering, but I'm a big girl. I can do this on my own." She kissed him again. "I'm gonna go shower."

"All right." Aiden left her to get ready then. He sighed. He couldn't help but worry about her. He prayed it was nothing too serious.

Hope sat on the bed in her hospital room as she waited for the doctor to come in. She had wished Kayla could be there, but Kayla was busy with other patients so she had to settle for Jessica Frank, the newest doctor on staff. Hope hated waiting. She wondered why doctor's always hated waiting on their patients, and scolded them if they were late, and yet, they loved to make their patients wait. She kind of felt sick again, but laid down on her back, and it made her feel a little better.

Finally, the pretty brunette doctor came in. She smiled at Hope. "Hello, Mrs. Jennings! Thank you for waiting. What seems to be the problem today?"

"I've been throwing up since last night. I had some sushi last night that, according to my husband, looked bad. I thought it might have been that since I started throwing up later that night. But then this morning I threw up again," Hope replied. "I still feel kind of sick."

"Well, sometimes food poisoning can take up to ten days to clear out of your system, but it usually only takes a day or two. Where did you get the sushi?"

"It was in one of those containers at the grocery store," Hope answered.

"Hm… I wouldn't think that would make you all that sick." Jessica looked over her chart. "I see your blood pressure is normal…" The nurse had taken Hope's blood pressure before Jessica had come in. Jessica listened to Hope's heart and lungs then. "Your heart and lungs sound fine too. I'm going have the nurse come back in and draw some blood, then we can see from there if there is any other cause that could be making you throw up."

Hope nodded. "All right."

"I'll send her right in, and be back in a moment." Jessica said.

"All right, thank you," Hope said, watching the doctor leave.

She sighed. She hated waiting. She dreaded going to the doctors for this very reason.

Thankfully, it was only about five minutes more before the nurse came in and took her blood.

"I'll send the doctor back in, but you should be good to go. I can have these results for you by tomorrow," the nurse told her.

Hope smiled. "Thank you."

The doctor surprisingly came right back in. She smiled at Hope. "I'm going to suggest you take a stomach medicine and antacid of your choice. Once we get the results of your bloodwork in, which should be early tomorrow morning, we can go from there."

"All right, thank you." Hope was a little disappointed. She just wanted to know what was wrong with her now. Again, she hated waiting. On the plus side, she was feeling better.

"I will have my assistant call you tomorrow as soon as those results are in," the doctor said.

Hope nodded. "All right, thank you."

The doctor left, and then Hope signed out. She wished the doctor had at least prescribed her something.

She sighed as she left the hospital and headed to the pharmacy. Tomorrow morning couldn't come soon enough!

That evening, Hope felt much better. She had taken some Pepto-Bismol and a couple of Tums, then taken a long nap. Julie and Doug had come over for a visit after that, having brought her over some ginger ale and chicken noodle soup. Now, she felt back to normal.

Aiden arrived home from work after Doug and Julie had already gone. He had called her earlier in the day to see what the doctor said, but of course, she hadn't had much to tell him.

"Hey." He pulled her close and kissed her. "Are you feeling any better?"

Hope placed his hands on his chest and nodded. "Much." She kissed him. "How was work?"

"It was the same ol' same ol'. I was worried about you all day." He kissed her again.

"I appreciate it, but I'm feeling much better now. I'm curious to see if anything shows up in my blood work tomorrow." She kissed him again.

"What should we do for dinner tonight?" He asked, kissing her neck.

"Mm, I think we should take advantage of my feeling better before we think about dinner," Hope murmured. She kissed his neck and started undoing his tie.

"Sounds good to me. After all… You are my favorite thing to snack on," he said, his hands slowly roaming down her body.

"And you're mine," she purred into his ear as she got his tie undone. She let it drop to the floor.

"Are you sure you're up for this? You're feeling all right?" Aiden asked her. "I don't want you to relapse." He paused from unbuttoning her blouse.

She took his hand and kissed it, then placed it over her shirt. "I'm positive."

Aiden kissed her, then finished unbuttoning her shirt. He let it slip off her shoulders to the floor.

He then picked her up and carried her to the bed. He carefully set her down. "I love you," he murmured.

"I love you too," she said, kissing his hand again.

They kissed softly on the lips, and then they finished undressing each other, both eager to share their love for each other in the most intimate way possible.

The next morning, Hope had the day off, but Aiden had to work early.

When Hope woke up, she blindly felt the other side of the bed for Aiden, but her hand fell upon a note instead. She opened her eyes and read the note.

 _Good morning, Beautiful! You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you. I hope you're feeling better. Call me when you get the blood work results. Thank you for last night. You were amazing. Can't wait for more when I get home if you're up for it. ;) I love you. –Your Husband_

Hope smiled big, and held the note to her chest. She loved him so much and she loved being reminded that he was her husband. Not that she needed any reminding. Last night had been incredible. She would definitely be up for more when he returned from work.

She slowly climbed out of bed, but then it hit her again—the sudden urge to throw up. She groaned. "When will this end?" She ran to the bathroom, and threw up in the toilet. She was sure by now that the sushi had nothing to do with her illness. For one, the sushi hadn't tasted off. For two, it wouldn't have hit her this hard. The sushi container hadn't even been that big.

She finished throwing up, then carefully stood up as she flushed the toilet. She then washed her hands and face, and brushed her teeth. She contemplated taking a shower, but the phone rang, and she quickly ran to pick it up. It was the hospital.

"Hope Jennings speaking."

"Hello, Mrs. Jennings. This is Jenna Davis. I'm Doctor Frank's assistant. I have the results of your blood work."

"Did you find anything?" Hope asked.

"Doctor Frank would prefer to tell you in person. Are you able to come see her at eleven?"

Hope looked at her watch. She had two hours. "Sure. I'll be there."

"Great! We'll see you then." Jenna promptly hung up.

Now Hope was nervous. They wouldn't tell her over the phone what was wrong, so she wondered if that was a bad sign. Was there something seriously wrong with her? Should she call Aiden to go with her for moral support?

She didn't want to worry him. She didn't even know herself for sure that it was something bad.

She took a shower and got dressed, but skipped breakfast, for the thought of eating anything made her want to vomit again.

She mindlessly ran a few errands, and then headed over to the hospital. The wait to be called in was excruciating, but finally, after sitting for what felt like an hour in the waiting room but was in reality only ten minutes, she was called in. Once in the room, she had to wait five more minutes before the doctor came in.

Dr. Frank smiled brightly at Hope as she entered the room. "Hello again!"

"Is it bad news? Do I have stomach cancer or something?" Hope asked, biting her nails.

Dr. Frank shook her head. "No! Nothing bad at all! At least, I don't think it's anything bad." She smiled and winked at Hope.

"What does that mean? When I was told you wanted to tell me in person, I assumed the worst!" Hope said.

"I'm sorry. I should have told my assistant to make it clear that nothing was wrong. In fact, it's quite the contrary," Dr. Frank said, waking over to her.

"So, why have I been throwing up?" Hope asked, growing impatient. "I threw up again this morning."

Dr. Frank smiled. "It's quite simple. You were experiencing morning sickness."

Hope's face paled. "Morning sickness? You mean…?"

Dr. Frank nodded, a big grin plastered on her face. "Yes, Ma'am! Congratulations, Mrs. Jennings! You're pregnant."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3:**_

"I'm what?" Hope asked in surprise.

"You're pregnant!" Dr. Frank replied with a smile.

"How is that even possible? When my period stopped, I just assumed I was going into menopause. Aren't I past child bearing age?" Hope asked. She was in shock. Being pregnant hadn't even crossed her mind since she was fifty.

"It's incredibly rare, but possible. But I have no doubt in my mind that this will be your last child," Dr. Frank replied. "It's practically a miracle you were able to conceive this little one."

"Is this a risky pregnancy?" Hope asked. She placed her hands over her stomach, and looked down at it. She already felt protective of her child, even though it was still hard for her brain to fully grasp that she was pregnant.

Dr. Frank nodded. "Yes. You're going to have to be extra careful with this pregnancy. I personally would take a leave of absence from the police force. I wouldn't advice doing anything strenuous either. You are about five weeks pregnant. Now, as I said before, births when you're past your fifties are very rare, but they do happen. There is a bigger chance of your child having Downs Syndrome, but it's not a definite thing. There have been cases where women past their fifties have had perfectly healthy babies."

"So, what do I have to do to assure this baby is healthy?" Hope asked. "I don't care about the risks. I will love my baby no matter what."

"Well, I'm going to set you up with an OBGYN, and I will also assign you some medication to help with the morning sickness. As long as you take it easy, and do exactly what your OBGYN suggests, you will be doing everything in your power to take care of your baby." Dr. Frank smiled. "Are you happy to be pregnant?"

Hope nodded. "I am. I'm just completely shocked. Never in a million years would I think I'd be having another baby at fifty!"

Dr. Frank smiled again. "Well, you're not alone, I assure you. I bet your husband will be happy to hear the news."

Hope smiled weakly. "I hope so!" She doubted he planned on being a father again at forty-three! At least not with his fifty-year-old wife.

"I'm sure he will be." Dr. Frank said with a smile. "When you sign out, my assistant will have your prescription waiting. She can also set you up with your OBGYN appointment."

"Thanks," Hope said. She watched Dr. Frank leave the room, then she sighed. Aiden would probably be calling soon to see how her appointment went, but she knew this was something she had to tell him in person. He was entering his lunch break time now, so she supposed it would be the perfect time to tell him.

She grabbed her purse, then headed out of the room to sign out and go find her husband.

Hope knocked on Aiden's office door, a little worried about what his reaction would be. What if he didn't want to be a father again? He was an excellent dad to Chase, and loved him very much. But did he really want to be a father to—including Ciara— three children, one of them being a baby? Now instead of being able to enjoy their married life with their children out of the house in seven years, they wouldn't have their children all out of the house for eighteen years. What would Aiden think of that?

Aiden opened the door, his smile growing wide. "Hey, Baby! I was just about to call you. How did your blood work turn out?" His expression then changed to one filled with worry. "You came to tell me in person. Is something wrong?" He placed his hands over her lower back.

"It's nothing to be alarmed about, but I wanted to talk to you about it in person," Hope said. She hugged him.

"Baby, you're worrying me. What's wrong?" Aiden asked, gently rubbing her back.

"I never thought this could happen at my age. I know you never did either," she said, her head against his chest.

"You never thought what could happen at your age?" Aiden asked.

Hope pulled away from him just enough to look in his eyes. "I had to make an appointment with a special kind of doctor now."

Aiden's face paled. "Please tell me it's not a cancer doctor."

Hope shook her head. "No. I had to make an appointment with an OBGYN."

Aiden looked confused. "Isn't that a baby doctor?"

Hope nodded, a slight smile on her face. "Yes, it is. Aiden, I'm pregnant."

For a moment, Aiden's expression was blank. "How is that even possible?" he asked. "I didn't think women could give birth in their fifties."

Hope placed her hands over her stomach and looked down at it again. "I didn't either, but apparently, it can happen; it's just rare. My doctor said I'm going to have to be extra careful, but it's possible for this baby to arrive safely. There's a chance of him or her having Downs Syndrome, but that's not a definite."

Aiden was still quiet.

"So, what do you think?" Hope asked.

"Wow," was all Aiden could manage to get out.

Hope's expression fell a bit. "You're not happy about it, are you? You don't want to be a father again, or have to raise another baby." She didn't know if it was the hormones kicking in already or what, but her eyes started tearing up.

"What? No! Baby, are you kidding me? I'm over the moon! I'm just in shock is all. Come here." He reached out his arms and gently pulled her close to him so that she was against his chest again. He kissed the top of her head. "Baby, I'm so happy, believe me." He held her at arms' length to look her in the eyes. He grinned big. "We're having a baby, Baby!"

Hope grinned; instantly relaxing. "So you're not mad?"

"Mad? Are you kidding me? You're giving me another child!" Aiden's tone was much more excited now that the shock had worn off.

"Hopefully I can carry it to term. The doctor says I should take a leave of absence from the force until I have the baby." Hope rested her head on his shoulder.

Aiden rubbed her back and buried his nose in her hair. "If that's what the doctor thinks is best, then I think you should. We can afford it."

Hoped sighed contently, enjoying the comfort of Aiden's arms. "I think I'd like to work for at least a couple months more. I won't do any strenuous work. I'll do office work if need be. I just need to be doing some kind of work or I'll drive myself insane."

Aiden kissed the top of her head. "I trust you to know what you can handle. When is your first appointment with the baby doctor?"

"Next Friday." She looked up at him. "I'm about five weeks along, meaning we must have conceived our baby on our honeymoon."

Aiden grinned. "It doesn't surprise me." He pulled her closer yet to murmur in her ear. "Which time do you think we conceived our baby? When we were on the plane, and I made you feel so good you screamed…." He ground up against her.

Hope moaned.

"Or maybe it was the time when we made up after our Bo fight…" Aiden ran his hands up the back of Hope's shirt. "Remember? When I couldn't get enough of you…" He kissed the side of her neck.

Hope bit her bottom lip. "I remember…"

"Or it could have been the time directly after that…" He ground up against her again.

Hope took his face between her hands and rested her forehead against his.

"Or the time directly after that…" He began kissing a trail up the side of her neck.

Hope's breathing was getting heavy. Aiden always knew how to get her in the mood for him. She walked over to the door and locked it. "I hope you don't have any appointments to interrupt us," she said, slowly making her way back over to Aiden. She took him in her arms again. "Because, there's no way I can wait until you get home," she purred in his ear.

He picked up the receiver on the phone, and set it on the desk. He glanced at the clock. "We have forty-five minutes left of my lunch break before my next meeting."

Hope kissed his lips. "Good."

"Are you sure this is okay?" Aiden asked, already starting to unbutton her blouse. "I mean, with the baby and everything."

"As long as we're not rough about it, we should be fine," Hope murmured, undoing his tie.

"Don't worry. I'll take it slow…" He kissed down to her shoulder as he slid off her blouse. "And gentle." He then kissed her neck again. "But I'm still going to make you feel so good…"

Hope's breathing got heavy again. "You always do," she purred into his ear before pulling him down to the floor with her.

"So what do you want?" Hope asked as they finished getting redressed.

Aiden grinned. "I just had what I want. Unfortunately I don't have time for more, but more would be what I want." He pulled her close and kissed her.

Hope kissing him back, then smiled, resting her forehead against his. "I mean, do you want a boy or a girl?"

"I will be happy with whatever we have." Aiden kissed her cheek.

"Come on, that's the easy answer. I know you'll love either, but if you could have your pick, which would it be?" Hope pressed.

"Well, since I already have a son, it might be nice to have a daughter. I mean, I know I have a stepdaughter, but…" Aiden trailed off.

"It would be nice to have a biological daughter," Hope finished for him.

Aiden nodded. "Exactly! It's not that I don't love Ciara because I do. But, it would be nice to have our own daughter."

"Yes, it would," Hope said with a smile. She couldn't stop smiling whenever she was with Aiden. He made her the happiest she'd ever been.

"What about you? Which would you prefer? A boy or a girl?" Aiden asked, his hands placed over her lower back.

"Well, since I lost my son Zack, I've always had an ache in my heart. It might be nice to have a son again. Not to replace him. No one could ever replace Zack. It's just that…" Hope trailed off.

"It would be nice to have another little boy to love and watch grow," Aiden finished for her.

Hope nodded. "I never got to see Zack grow up, and it's been so long since Shawn Douglass was a baby. It would be nice to have another baby son."

Aiden nodded. "I understand."

"But don't get me wrong. If we have a daughter, I will be thrilled. Daughters are more fun, after all. They're a handful, but so much more fun to clothing shop for!" Hope grinned.

"But do we really want another Ciara?" Aiden asked.

"Yikes! Okay, maybe a boy would be best," Hope joked.

They both laughed.

"Ciara would _not_ be amused if she hears us joking like that," Hope said, a smile still playing in the corner of her mouth.

"Chase would," Aiden quipped.

Hope shook her head. "With a good reason! I swear it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between Ciara's friends and her enemies. She treats them about the same."

"Well, at least their bickering brought us together," Aiden said, pulling her closer.

Hope, still smiling, nodded. "Yes, it did."

They kissed.

Aiden then sighed. "Well, unfortunately, I have to get back to work. When should we tell Doug and Julie? I don't want to tell the kids over the phone, but it would have been nice to tell them first."

"Don't worry. Dad and Julie can keep a secret," Hope promised.

"Maybe we can invite them over for dinner tomorrow and tell them then?" Aiden asked.

Hope rested her head on his shoulder. "I know it sounds superstitious, but I might just tell them it's a stomach bug. I wanna wait until I finish my first trimester. It would be awful to have them so excited, only for me to lose it. I don't want to jinx it."

"But hopefully we won't have to worry about that," Aiden said, concern growing in his face.

Hope gently stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. "I'm going to do everything in my power to keep our baby safe and healthy."

Aiden kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too." Hope kissed him again. "I'll see you tonight."

They kissed again, Aiden's hands still around her waist. "Tonight," he confirmed, the hungry look in his eyes again.

They kissed once more, then Hope left his office and headed home.

That night, as they lie in bed together, they thought about baby names.

"I know it's a little early, but all day I've been thinking of a name for a girl, and I think I came up with the perfect one," Aiden said.

Hope raised an eyebrow. "What name?"

Aiden grinned. "Haiden. Part Hope and part Aiden."

"Spelled H-a-i-d-e-n?" Hope asked.

Aiden nodded.

Hope turned to him, resting her head on her hand. She smiled. "I actually love that name! It's unique, and perfectly us."

"Exactly!" Aiden said. "You can pick her middle name since I picked the first."

"I always thought Lily was a pretty name," Hope replied. "Not Lillian. Just Lily."

"Haiden Lily Jennings. I love it!" Aiden said.

"Well, that was easy! I actually have a middle name in mind for our baby if it's a boy," Hope confessed.

"As long as it's not Bo, I'm up for hearing it," Aiden joked.

Hope playfully swatted his shoulder. "No, I thought of his middle name being Zack in honor of his half-brother."

"I think that would be perfect," Aiden said without hesitation.

Hope placed a hand over his arm. "Really? Because if you feel uncomfortable naming him after Bo's and my son…."

Aiden shook his head. "Not at all! He was your son and you loved him very much. I think it's a very nice tribute to him."

"Thank you for understanding." Hope kissed Aiden's chest. "Do you have any names in mind for his first name?"

"I always liked the name Jake as a kid. I actually wanted to name Chase Jake, but Meredith was set on Chase, so I went with what she wanted," Aiden confessed.

"Jacob Zachary Jennings. It does kind of have a nice ring to it," Hope agreed.

"Well, we have plenty of time to decide." Aiden kissed her. "Right now, I say we try for twins. Then maybe we can have both a boy _and_ a girl!" He moved so that he was on top of her.

Hope laughed. "I don't think it works that way."

Aiden smiled. "Maybe not. But, can we at least pretend?" He began kissing down her neck.

Hope closed her eyes. "Of course…" She smiled, then brought Aiden's face up to hers so that she could kiss him and show him how much she truly loved him.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4:**_

Aiden waited patiently in the waiting room for Hope to come out of her appointment. He had wanted to be in there with her, but an appointment of his ran late, so now he was just there to pick her up. The three months of Hope's first trimester were finally up. By now, the kids were back from camp, but they didn't know about the baby yet. He and Hope had decided to wait until they knew for sure if the baby was okay. Then, they planned on telling the kids over dinner, and then the following day, they would tell Doug and Julie over lunch.

Hope came out of the appointment and signed out, then walked over to him, a smile on her face.

Aiden smiled too. "I hope that smile means good news?"

Hope nodded. "So far so good! The doctor says our baby is coming along nicely." She rubbed her stomach.

"I'm so happy, Baby!" Aiden said, pulling her close.

"Mm, me too. So deliriously happy!" Hope murmured.

They kissed.

"Wanna get out of here and get some lunch?" Aiden asked, his forehead against hers.

"Yes! I'm starving. I've been craving pizza all morning." She kissed him.

Aiden smiled and put his hand over her stomach. "Our baby already likes the good stuff!"

Hope grinned. "I know I should eat healthier while pregnant, but I _need_ to taste that peperoni pizza now."

"Well, then, let's get to the pizza place! Whatever my girls want, my girls get!" He placed a hand over her lower back and started to lead her out of the hospital.

"We don't know that it's a girl," Hope reminded him.

Aiden nodded. "I know. But I'm thinking that if I keep referring to our baby as a girl, it will be."

Hope smirked, and rolled her eyes. "Again, it doesn't work that way."

"As far as we know," Aiden said with a wink.

Hope shook her head and laughed. "We'll see."

Aiden watched in surprise (and a slight bit of disgust) as Hope packed in her forth piece of pizza. "I've never seen you eat so much in one setting as long as I've known you." She had even already had two and a half breadsticks before her pizza!

Hope shrugged. "I'm eating for two now," she said, her mouth still slightly full.

"Still… Where do you put it all?" Aiden asked. Despite her being three months pregnant, she hadn't gained too much weight yet. He could only slightly tell she was getting bigger.

Hope shrugged. "I'll be getting huge before you know it."

Aiden placed his hand over hers from across the table and gently squeezed it. "And you'll still be the most beautiful woman in the world to me."

Hope took his hand and kissed it. "We'll see if you feel the same way when I'm out to here." She made a motion with her hands imitating a much bigger stomach.

"It will be our daughter…or son, so how could I ever be turned off?" Aiden asked. "Anyway, no matter how big you get, it will never be able to take away from your beauty."

Hope stood up just enough to lean across the table and kiss him on the lips. "I love you, Mr. Jennings," she said, gently stroking his face with the back of her hand.

He took her hand in his and kissed it. "And I love you, Mrs. Jennings. More than you could ever imagine."

Hope smiled and they kissed again before she sat back down in her seat and went in for slice number five.

"Oh my gosh," Aiden said, his eyes wide.

Hope smirked. "Last slice, I promise." She winked at him.

"So what's this big surprise you have for us?" Ciara asked as they waited for their food to arrive at the Brady Pub.

Hope was glad Caroline was off at her Bingo game. She didn't want her being here when she and Aiden told the kids about their baby. True Caroline had long since accepted Aiden, but even so… Hope didn't feel comfortable telling her about the baby just yet.

"We wanted to wait to tell you over dessert," Hope told her wink and a smile.

"Are we going to Disney World? I've always wanted to go to Disney World," Chase asked.

Aiden shook his head. "No, but we can definitely make that happen."

Chase's smile grew big. "Yes! Can we go over winter break?" he asked.

Aiden looked at Hope, and she returned his look. She knew he was thinking the same thing she was. She wouldn't be able to travel then, for she would be almost ready to have the baby by then.

"We'll have to wait until at least summertime," Hope told Chase.

"Why? Winter would be a much better time to go because it's cold here and warm there!" Chase insisted.

"If that's not the surprise, then what's the surprise? Are you raising both our allowances a hundred dollars?" Ciara asked.

Chase looked hopeful.

Hope smirked at her. "Nice try."

Chase's face fell.

"Then what? Just tell us now. The suspense is killing us!" Ciara said.

Aiden and Hope smiled at each other.

"Do you want to tell them or should I?" Hope asked.

"You tell them!" Aiden said, grinning widely.

"Tell us what? Come on!" Chase coaxed.

"Well, how would you two feel about having a baby brother or sister?" Hope asked.

Chase's face lit up. "Really? You're having a baby?"

"But you're too old!" Ciara said.

Hope shot her a look. "Gee, thanks, Ciara."

"My friend Jenny said her mom can't get pregnant anymore because she's past the age that can have children, and her mom's a year younger than you!" Ciara explained.

"Well, it's true in most cases that women around my age can't conceive, but it is possible in rare cases, and I'm one of those rare cases," Hope explained. "So, are you excited?"

Chase paled. "Oh gosh."

"What's wrong? You don't want to be a big brother?" Aiden asked him.

He shook his head. "It's not that. It's just now I can't pretend you guys don't have sex." He looked a little ill.

Ciara rolled her eyes. "He's naïve," she said.

Aiden and Hope both laughed.

Aiden cleared his throat. "That aside, are you happy you're going to be a big brother?"

Chase nodded. "I sure am! I always wanted a sibling! I don't care what it is, I just want a sibling!"

Ciara shrugged. "I guess I don't mind." She then grinned. "It will be kind of nice to have someone to boss around!"

Hope rolled her eyes. "Leave it to you to come up with that reason to be happy for a younger sibling."

Ciara shrugged.

"That's perfectly Ciara of you. I wouldn't expect it any other way," Aiden said, smiling at her.

Ciara grinned. "I do hope it's a boy. I want to be the only daughter because daughters get spoiled more."

Hope shook her head. "She's Bo's daughter, that's for sure." Then she thought better of it and smiled at Aiden, her hand placed over his. "Just as our baby will have you wrapped around their little finger."

Aiden grinned. "You know it!"

"So, do you know what you're going to name my baby sister or brother?" Chase asked.

Hope and Aiden looked at each other and smiled.

"Well, if it's a girl, we want to call her Haiden Lily," Aiden replied. "Or Haiden Destiny because she's our destiny," Aiden said, taking Hopes hand in his.

Hope smiled at him. "I really like that name too. It's so hard to choose!"

"I bet you you're going to name him Jacob if it's a boy," Chase said.

Aiden laughed. "You know me too well!"

"Mom didn't like that name at all, did she?" Chase asked.

Aiden shook his head. "She wouldn't even let me use it as your middle name because she didn't think it went with Chase."

"What is his middle name going to be?" Chase asked.

"Zachary," Hope said. After my son who died."

"How did he die?" Chase asked.

"He was hit by a car when he was younger than you," Hope said. It still made her sad to talk about it, but she could at least say it without bursting into tears now.

"I never knew him, but I've seen pictures. He was cute like me," Ciara told Chase.

Hope smiled at that. "Yes, indeed he was."

"Well, I'm super excited to be a big brother!" Chase said.

"Ciara got a mischievous glint in her eyes as she looked at Chase. "I'll bet you a week's allowance it's a boy."

Chase hesitated for a moment, but finally he nodded. "Deal! I say it'll be a girl. Your mom's had two sons and one girl. She's due for another girl."

They shook on it.

Hope and Aiden looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Kids will be kids," he said.

"And schemers will be schemers," Hope said, eyeing Ciara.

The rest of dinner (and dessert) the kids had spent talking excitedly about what they thought their brother or sister would look like and what they wanted to do with them. Ciara said she would refuse to change diapers, and Chase wasn't too keen on the idea either. At the end, Ciara and Chase had decided that Ciara would help dress her little brother and sing and rock him to sleep, and Chase settled upon feeding his little sister (at a decent hour), and playing with her.

"We'll just see how eager they are to help when the baby actually gets here," Aiden had said to Hope.

Hope had nodded. "Exactly!"

Now, the kids were in bed for the night, and Aiden and Hope were preparing to be as well.

Hope finished in the bathroom, then brushed her hair while Aiden headed in to us the bathroom.

She brushed her hair until there were no tangles, and then set the brush down. Then, she felt Aiden's arms wrap around her from behind. "Come to bed now," he murmured. He kissed the side of her neck.

Hope turned around and they kissed.

After a moment, Aiden turned off the lights, then carried his bride to bed. Tomorrow they would tell Doug and Julie the good news, but for now, all he wanted to do was show his wife how much he loved her.

"Do you have any idea how much I love you?" he asked as he lay on top of Hope and began kissing a trail down her neck.

She opened her legs, giving him more space for his body. "Why don't you show me?" She asked. Then, she brushed her lips against his ear to murmur in it, "I like to _feel_ your love."

"Keep talking like that, and I'm going to be keeping you up all night long, Baby," Aiden murmured, beginning to kiss a trail down her body.

Hope closed her eyes. "I have the day off tomorrow, so feel free to do whatever you—" She gasped as she felt Aiden pleasuring her. "want," she finished, her head thrown back, and her breathing getting heavier.

She squeezed the bed sheets, in her hands as Aiden took her to new levels of pleasure.

When it was over, her kissed his way back up her body, and kissed her neck, his hands roaming down her body. "Did I make you feel good?" he murmured.

"Do you even have to ask?" Hope asked. "I'm surprised I didn't wake the kids!"

Aiden grinned at her. "I'm going to go freshen up in the bathroom, then I'll be back to work on you some more…" he murmured, the hungry look in his eyes again.

Hope licked her lips at the thought of more Aiden. "I'm going to go get a drink and check on the kids while you do that."

"All right," Aiden agreed. "I'll be right back." He slipped out of bed and headed to the bathroom, then Hope went and got a drink of water in the kitchen. After that, she checked on Ciara first, who was sleeping peacefully on her side, surrounded by a mound of pillows, just as she liked.

Hope smiled, and closed the door. Next, she checked on Chase, who was sleeping on his back with just a sheet and only one pillow. He didn't have much meat on his bones, yet he tended to get overheated at night during the summer, despite the fact that they had air conditioning, which of course, explained the reason why he only had one sheet.

Hope closed his door, then headed back to the bedroom, where Aiden was just leaving the bathroom.

They got into bed together.

"Are the kids still sleeping?" he asked.

Hope nodded. "So peacefully."

"Did you get your drink?" he asked next.

"Yep!" Hope wrapped her arms around him, and pulled herself closer to him. "I'm all ready to be with you again. Only this time…." She brushed her lips against his ear and whispered, "I want you fully, and completely…If you know what I mean?"

Aiden responded by pinning her beneath him. "I know _exactly_ what you mean," he replied, his eyes dark with desire.

Soon, they were making love, and Hope knew he had meant it when he had said he was going to make love to her all night long. She wasn't about to complain.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5:**_

"What do you think they'll say? Do you think they'll be happy for us?" Aiden asked as he and Hope sat at Chez Rouge, waiting for Julie and Doug to arrive.

"Of course they'll be happy! Why wouldn't they be?" Hope asked with a reassuring smile.

Aiden shrugged. "Well, you know how they reacted when you and I first started dating. What if they don't like the thought of you having a child with anyone but Bo?"

"Aiden, please! They've come a long way since the day." Hope took his hands in hers from across the table and gently squeezed them. "You know they both love you like their own son now. They will be thrilled to have another grandbaby. Trust me."

Aiden kissed her hands. "How did I get so lucky to marry you?"

"I ask myself that same question every day. How _did_ you get so lucky?" Hope joked.

"You make me feel so loved," Aiden said sarcastically. He grinned to show he was also only joking.

"Seriously though, I do ask myself that same question every day, only I ask, how did _I_ get so lucky to land you as my husband?" Hope said, kissing his hands.

"Baby, I'm the lucky one," Aiden murmured.

"We're both lucky," Hope said, leaning in to kiss him.

"I should have known we'd walk in on you two kissing. We always do," Julie joked as she arrived at their table, her arm linked with Doug's.

Hope and Aiden broke the kiss and grinned at her.

"Hello," Aiden said.

Hope stood up. "I'm so glad you guys could make it! I missed you." She hugged Julie, and then her father. They had been gone on another cruise for the past month.

"Welcome back! So, how was your cruise?" Aiden asked as he shook Doug's hand, and then hugged Julie.

"Oh, it was just wonderful! If it weren't for family, I'd have suggested to Doug that we never leave," Julie said, sitting down once Doug held her seat out for her.

"The beaches in Europe are so much better than any American beach you'll find," Doug said.

Julie rolled her eyes as he pushed her chair back in for her. "He only enjoys them because of all the hot young women that go topless at the clothing optional beaches."

"I wasn't looking, I swear! They just have whiter sand and bluer water is all," Doug said as he sat down. He mouthed the word "hot" to Aiden when Julie wasn't looking, and moved his hands up and down in a motion to gesture that the beaches had busty women.

Aiden smirked.

"I saw that," Julie said.

"Like you weren't checking out the young cabana boys in their napkin sized Speedos," Doug shot back.

Julie straightened up. "That was entirely different."

Hope and Aiden both laughed.

"See what I have to live with?" Doug asked, pointing to Julie with his thumb.

"But you wouldn't have me any other way, just as I wouldn't have you any other way," Julie said to him.

He smiled. "You're absolutely right."

They kissed.

Hope and Aiden smiled at each other.

"We should both go nude next time we go to one of those beaches," Doug joked.

"No, you really shouldn't," Aiden said under his breath.

"I may be old, but it doesn't mean my hearing's going. Just wait until you get my age and we'll see then who wants to look at _your_ naked body," Julie said.

Aiden blushed.

"I'll be the only one he shows his naked body off to—" Hope narrowed her eyes at Aiden. "At least I better be—and I can assure you I'll love it just as much then as I do now."

Aiden blushed even more. "Can we please talk about something else?"

Hope nodded. "Yes. I do not want the mental picture in my head of my father and stepmother naked."

"Well, then let's look over our menus instead," Julie replied.

So, they did just that, and once they had ordered, and gotten their drink orders, Hope and Aiden decided to tell them the baby news.

"We actually didn't call you here just to have lunch," Hope said to them.

Julie raised an eyebrow. "Oh, then what did you call us here for?"

"Do you need money?" Doug asked.

"What? No. It's about Hope. Well, I'm involved too, but mainly Hope." Aiden grinned.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Julie asked.

"Well, I have been lying to you. It wasn't just a stomach bug I had last month," Hope confessed.

"What? Why did you lie to us? What is it? Is it something serious?" Doug asked, already worried.

Hope quickly shook her head. "No! Well, not serious in a bad way anyway."

"Darling, just spit it out," Julie ordered.

Hope and Aiden smiled at each other. "You tell them," Hope ordered.

"Tell us what?" Doug asked. He and Julie were nervously holding hands on the table now.

"Well, you guys are about to become grandparents again because Hope is pregnant!" Aiden said.

For a moment, neither Julie, nor Doug said anything.

"Well, one of you say something," Hope said.

Doug was the first to speak. "Congratulations! I'm sorry, we're just in shock. I thought I was never going to get another grandchild! I didn't think it was possible for you to have another baby at your age."

"It's possible, just rare. I guess Hope beat the odds," Julie said.

"You guys don't sound very excited," Aiden said. He was starting to feel like maybe his earlier thought about them not being happy that Hope was pregnant with his baby instead of Bo's were not so far-fetched after all.

Julie placed her hand over his. "Darling, I'm sorry. We don't mean to come off like that at all. Trust me, we're very, very happy! It's just a lot to take in at once."

Aiden relaxed a bit.

"How far along are you?" Doug asked.

"Just over three months," Hope replied.

"So you don't know what you're having yet. Do you have any preference?" Julie asked with a smile, apparently trying to get through her shock.

"I would like a boy, but Aiden wants a girl," Hope said with a smile as she rubbed her stomach. "But we'll both be happy with whatever God chooses to give us."

"Well, you two are already such great parents to Ciara and Chase. I just know you'll be amazing parents to your new little one. Especially now that you have more experience in being parents," Doug said.

"And if I can handle Ciara, I can handle anything," Aiden quipped.

Hope playfully swatted him arm.

"I know _that's_ right!" Doug said.

Julie gasped, and playfully hit Doug's arm.

Doug and Aiden both snickered.

That night, as they lie in bed, Hope's head on Aiden's shoulder, she looked up at him. "Do you ever wish I wasn't pregnant?" she asked, rubbing her hand over his chest.

He looked at her. "No. Why would I? I'm absolutely thrilled I'm going to be a daddy again! Especially with you as its mother." He picked up her hand and kissed her fingers. "I love you, and I love our baby to be."

"It's just that, I'm going to be seventy by the time he or she goes off to college. You'll be sixty-three. We'll be retired and enjoying the last decades of life. We should be traveling the world like Doug and Julie. Instead, we'll be raising a child very late in life," Hope replied.

Aiden shook his head. "It's doesn't bother me one bit! It will only make our lives more fulfilling."

"Maybe if you had married someone younger than you, it wouldn't have been so bad. You could have had a child with her while you were both still young." Hope was trying not to cry, but her hormones were getting the best of her, and her voice cracked a bit.

"Baby, please. You're not old! We're only seven years apart. Trust me, people with much bigger age differences than that marry all the time! Anyway, I do not want another woman. You're the only woman I ever wanted after my wife died. It's you or no one at all for me. And finally, this baby in here wouldn't exist had we not gotten together." He rubbed Hope's stomach as he said it. "That baby is exactly the baby that you and I are destined to have. He or she wouldn't exist if she didn't have both of us."

Hope smiled, feeling her sadness and worries start to melt away. "You always know just what to say to me to make me feel better."

Aiden kissed her hand again. "I'm your husband; it's my job." He stroked her cheek. "Do you regret getting pregnant this late in life?"

Hope shook her head. "Not even for a second."

They kissed.

Hope then turned the lights off, and whispered in his ear, "Now let me make you feel good."

"You always do," Aiden said, his breathing getting heavier at just the thought of the things she was going to do with him.

She smiled, and slowly ran her hands down his body. "I'm your wife. It's my job."

They kissed again, and then began to make the most of the hours of darkness and alone time they had ahead.

Two weeks had passed, and Hope was out baby clothing shopping. She had cut back her hours immensely upon doctor's orders, so today she had the day off. She had just found the cutest gender neutral white onesie with red hearts all over it. Across the chest it read in red, " _My mommy and daddy love me."_ She was now on the search for baby furniture. She wished she knew the gender, but she still had a couple more weeks before she and Aiden would find that out. It made it difficult to do too much clothe shopping right now.

She was just about to head into the baby furniture store when she felt a very sharp pain in her abdomen. "What was that?" she asked no one in particular. Then it hit her again, and again. It was getting worse. Then she felt her jeans dampening. She knew she hadn't just gone to the bathroom on herself. Fear filled her. Not worrying what it would look like to others, she reached down and rubbed her hand over the wet area of the jeans. She then looked at her hand, and to her greatest fear, it was covered in blood. The pain hit again and she cried out. This one was worse than the others. "Somebody help me!" she gasped.

"Hope? What's wrong?" Luckily, Eric was just walking through the square and spotted her.

"The baby… I think something's wrong with the baby," she said, tears in her eyes, and her hands on her stomach. "I'm feeling pain, and I'm bleeding…"

Eric immediately wrapped an arm around her waist and began to lead her away. "Come on. I'm taking you to the hospital."

Hope followed him, still in pain. "I can't lose this baby, Eric. I can't!" she cried.

"It's going to be okay, Hope. We'll get you to the hospital, and get you some help. It's just around the corner, don't worry," Eric tried to soothe her, but there was no soothing her.

"Just get me there, quickly. Please!" she pleaded, the tears falling from her eyes.

"Where is she? Where is my wife?" Aiden asked, storming into the hospital twenty minutes after Eric had arrived with Hope at the hospital.

"She's in the room being examined right now," Eric said, pointing to the room. He had called Aiden upon arriving at the hospital.

Aiden headed for the door.

"I don't know if the doctor wants anyone in there," Eric said.

"Tough! I'm her husband. They can just try to stop me!" He opened the door and shut it behind him, then he ran over to Hope, who was lying in a hospital bed. The OBGYN was looking over her clipboard.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I was in the square, shopping for the baby, when I started getting these huge, panful cramps. Then I started to bleed. It scared me so much, Aiden!" Hope said, tears still in her eyes.

"Are you all right? Is our baby all right?" Aiden asked, taking her hand in his own.

Hope nodded. "The baby's fine, and so am I."

"Then what was it?" Aiden asked, confused, but relieved at the same time.

"Your wife has had what is called a partial placenta separation," the doctor replied.

"What does that mean?" Aiden asked.

"Well, the placenta, which gives your baby oxygen and nutrients, has separated from the uterine lining. Now, if this separates fully, we can have a serious problem on our hands. Thankfully, for now, it is just partially separated. If it remains that way, everything should be fine," the doctor explained.

"And if it doesn't and it detaches fully?" Aiden asked.

"Well, Hope could lose the baby," the doctor said simply.

"What do we have to do to prevent that from happening?" Hope asked.

The doctor wrote something down on her chart, then looked at Hope. "Well, there's nothing you can do that is a hundred percent, but staying on bed rest, and monitoring your pregnancy will be a huge help. I want to make appointments for you to come in three days a week to monitor the baby and to ensure that everything is still going all right. And I don't want you working even part time."

"So, you're saying this is a high-risk pregnancy?" Aiden asked.

The doctor nodded. "Yes. So, Hope, no working, no doing anything strenuous, and until that baby is born, no intercourse. We have to be very careful when it comes to the placenta so that it doesn't fully detach. So, get some bedrest, take it easy, and I will see you on Wednesday for your next appointment. You can sign out, then you're free to go."

"Thank you," Hope said as the doctor left.

"Baby, I was so worried!" Aiden said, taking Hope's hand and kissing it.

Hope nodded. "So was I. But thank God I didn't have a miscarriage."

"Let's keep it that way. You're taking that leave of absence completely now, and I want you in bed as often as possible," Aiden told her.

"It's just a shame we can't make the most of me being in bed so often," Hope purred.

Aiden nodded. "That part is killing me, Baby! But it's killing our baby if we do make love, and I just won't have that."

Hope shook her head. "Not at all."

"But boy am I going to want to make up for lost time when our baby is born!" Aiden said, gently rubbing her stomach.

Hope smiled. "If we're awake enough!"

"I will always find the energy to make love to my beautiful wife," Aiden assured her.

"And I'll always find the energy to be made love to by my handsome husband!" Hope said with a grin.

Aiden grinned as well, and they kissed. He then offered his hand to her. "Come on. Let's get you signed out of here, and then home to bed. I'll order us some dinner in. Kayla is going to pick up the kids."

"God bless her. Sounds good," Hope said. She carefully climbed out of bed and let Aiden lead her out by hand. She tried to stifle the feelings of worry over the baby she had. Worrying would not be good for the baby. Still, she wouldn't stop fully worrying until their new baby girl or boy was born healthy. If it even was that is. She sighed, and tried to block the latest worries from her mind.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6:**_

Hope was now four and a half months pregnant. The day had finally arrived for her and Aiden to find out their baby's gender.

"I really wish you'd let me be there with you," Aiden said to her as he watched her get dressed.

"You have a meeting today," Hope reminded him.

Aiden nodded. "I know, but I could have easily postponed it."

"This way I can have fun telling you what it will be," Hope said. She pulled on her shirt, and then kissed him. "We'll meet at the pub for lunch, and I'll tell you then. Noon?"

Aiden nodded, his hands over her waist. "Sounds good."

They kissed again.

"I can't wait to find out what we're having!" he then said, a huge smile on his face.

She smiled as well. "Me too."

They kissed one more, then Aiden left for work, and Hope headed for her appointment.

"Well, hello there!" Kelly Griffith, her OBGYN sweetly greeted her once she was in the room, and had her gown on.

Hope smiled. "Hello."

"I bet you're excited to see what you're having," Kelly said as she put her gloves on.

Hope nodded. "So excited! I'm going to tell my husband over lunch. He wanted to be here, but I figured it would be more fun to tell him myself."

"I'm sure it will be! Now, if you'll please lie back for me, we can get this party started!" Dr. Griffith said.

Hope did as told as the doctor hooked the machine up.

"You know the drill. This will be a little bit cold upon touch," Dr. Griffith said as she got out the ultrasound gel. She put the gel on and then used the ultrasound handle to scan over Hope's stomach.

"The heartbeat looks good. So far, the baby is doing fine. It's hasn't detached any more. I can see you've been taking good care of yourself!" the doctor praised.

"My husband takes good care of us," Hope said with a smile.

"Well, your baby is in a great position for me to give you a positive gender identification. Are you sure you want to know the gender now instead of being surprised?" Dr. Griffith asked.

Hope nodded. "Yes! I want to know what color I should paint then nursery."

Dr. Griffith smiled. "Well, you can paint it any color you want. Nowadays, anything goes. Boys can like pink and girls can like blue. However, if you wanted to keep things traditional, then I'd say pink would be the best route to go!"

"Really?" Hope smiled. "A girl?"

"Yes, Ma'am! Congratulations! She is without a doubt a baby girl!" Dr. Griffith said with a grin. "Are you happy?"

Hope nodded her head. "I wanted a boy, but now that I know I'm having a girl, I'm not the least bit disappointed. Anyway, my husband will be absolutely thrilled. He really wanted a girl!"

"Well, it will make it all the more fun to tell him now, I'm sure," Dr. Griffith said with a wink.

Hope nodded. "Yes!" She grinned as well. "So, she looks healthy?"

Dr. Griffith unplugged the machine. "So far so good, but I still want you to take it easy. And remember, no sexual relations with your husband until she is born."

"Trust me, I won't do anything to jeopardize the health of my baby," Hope said.

"Glad to hear it!" Dr. Griffith replied. "I will see you in a couple days for your next appointment! When you sign out, Amy will give you your sonogram picture. We have the really cool 4-D ones now."

"Awesome!" Hope said. "Thank you."

"You are so very welcome. And congratulations again!"

"Thanks!" Hope replied.

As soon as the doctor left and shut the door behind her, Hope quickly changed back into her clothes. Then, she signed out, and received her picture from the receptionist/nurse.

"Congratulations on your baby girl. She's so cute! Well, what's formed of her anyway," Amy said with a wink as she handed the picture to Hope.

Hope looked at the picture and smiled. "She sure is. And thanks! I can hardly wait to meet her." She grinned even brighter and said goodbye to Amy, then looked at her watch. She had a half hour until she was supposed to meet Aiden, but she wanted to get there a little early anyway to prepare.

She then headed over to the pub, so excited to tell Aiden the good news. He was going to be absolutely thrilled, she knew!

Hope had talked to the waiter before Aiden arrived, and everything was all set up for her gender reveal to Aiden. She sat down and waited for him, and jumped out of her seat as soon as she saw him enter the pub.

She embraced him once he got to their table, and kissed him.

He moaned as he kissed her back. "Mm, I hope that kiss means everything went well?" he asked.

Hope nodded. "Take a seat!"

Aiden did as told. "So, what are we having?" he grinned.

"I'll tell you after we order. Our baby is doing well. He or she hasn't detached any more, and their heartbeat is good," Hope told him.

"Thank God!" Aiden kissed her hands. "Let's keep it that way."

"As long as I can help it," Hope agreed.

They looked over their menus, and then they ordered.

Once the waiter had left, Aiden took Hope's hands in his again. "So, tell me what we're having! The suspense is killing me!"

"Not until we get our drink orders," Hope insisted.

Aiden sighed. "But, Baby, I wanna know now! Please?" he pouted.

Hope shook her head. "Not until the drinks arrive."

Aiden sighed. "You're driving me crazy, Baby."

Hope just shrugged, and smiled at him. "So, how was your meeting?"

"I was all right. I couldn't concentrate too much. I was too eager to find out what we're having." Aiden eyed her up. "Come on, Hope, just tell me!"

"Thankfully, before Hope could answer, their drinks arrived. Along with their coffees they had ordered, pink lemonades arrived for both of them instead of their waters.

"Sorry, but I didn't order this," Aiden said to the waiter, motioning to his pink lemonade. I ordered a water instead."

The waiter nodded at Hope. "I know. She told me to bring these."

Aiden shook his head. "No, come to think of it, she ordered a water as well."

"I ordered those before you arrived," Hope said to him.

"Thank you," she then said with a smile at the waiter, indicating that he could leave.

The waiter took off, and Aiden looked at Hope in confusion. "Not that I don't like pink lemonade, but what was the point in ordering our drink orders twice?" he asked.

Hope smiled, the mischief clear in her eyes now. "What kind of lemonade did you say it is?"

Aiden looked at her funny. "Pink." Then the dawning of realization showed on his face. "It's pink! Does this mean…" he trailed off.

Hope grinned even brighter. "Let's just say I had been debating earlier upon a blue martini and the pink lemonade. I'm glad it ended up being pink lemonade, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to share in our celebration."

"It's a girl?" Aiden asked, even though by now the answer was obvious.

Hope nodded, the smile still in her face. "Yep! We're having a baby girl! Haiden Lily or Haiden Destiny, whatever it is we decide."

"Oh, Baby, I'm so happy!" Aiden jumped out of his chair, and walked over to Hope.

Hope stood up and grinned, before he embraced her and kissed her passionately on the lips.

She moaned, and wrapped her arms around him as she hungrily kissed him back.

"So, you're not upset we're not going to have a boy?" Aiden asked, after breaking the kiss a moment later.

Hope shook her head. "The second I found out we were having a girl, all I felt was excitement. Then I got even happier thinking of how happy you would be."

"I know you wanted to name the middle name to be Zack," Aiden said, sounding as if he felt bad now.

Hope shook her head as if shaking off his worries. "No one can replace Zack. It was just an idea. What matters is that our baby is healthy, and that I have another chance at raising a baby, this time with the best man I could ask for to be the father of it. Of her."

Aiden's eyes lowered with love for her, and he kissed her again. "I love you so much, Baby." He then placed his hands gently over Hope's stomach. "And you, my beautiful little Haiden."

Hope's eyes lit up. "Speaking of which…" she trailed off as she sat down, and searched through her purse.

Aiden sat down as well, then then took the ultrasound picture she handed him.

He looked at it. "Oh my gosh, she's beautiful, Hope!"

Hope grinned. "I know, right? And she's not even fully developed yet! Just wait until she's finished forming."

Aiden looked up at her. "She'll be as beautiful as her momma!"

Hope grinned, and they kissed across the table. "You make me so happy," she said to Aiden.

"And you make me so happy," he said to her, gently stroking her cheek with the back of his hand.

They kissed once more, then she sat down in her seat. "I can't wait to tell the kids."

"Let's just hope Ciara doesn't blow a gasket when she finds out it's not going to be a boy," Aiden quipped.

Hope's face paled. "Oh, gosh. I didn't think of that. Do we have to tell her?"

Aiden nodded. "Sadly, she's going to find out eventually anyway. We might as well give her time to prepare and get over it by the time Haiden is born."

Hope nodded. "I suppose you're right."

"Lord help us all," Aiden said before taking a sip of his pink lemonade.

Hope would normally scold him for joking badly about Ciara, but in this case, sadly, he was absolutely right. She sipped her lemonade, wishing she was allowed to drink something alcoholic. Lord knew she could have used some for when they got around to talking to Ciara.

That night, they told the kids over pizza at home. Ciara loved pizza, so they figured that they could use that to butter her up before telling her.

She already had a breadstick and one slice of pizza in her. She was eating a second slice when they figured then was as good of a time as any to tell her.

"So, Chase and Ciara." Aiden looked at Chase. "Hope." Then he looked at Ciara. "Your mother, has something she has to tell you," Aiden said.

"We know the gender of the baby!" Hope added.

"Really? So what is it?" Chase asked, his face lighting up.

Ciara smirked at him. "Get ready to pay me your allowance. It's so going to be a boy."

"I want to hear it from them," Chase said, looking intently at Hope and Aiden.

"Well, we have either pink or blue balloons in those boxes. Why don't you go open them up?" Hope asked with a sly smile and a wink as she nodded toward the directions of two boxes Aiden has set up for them.

Chase and Ciara looked at each other, and then at the boxes that Hope was motioning too. They then quickly jumped out of their seats, and ran over to the boxes. They each took one, and grabbed the single strip of Duct Tape that was keeping the box closed.

"Pull it on the count of three," Aiden ordered. "One. Two. Three!"

They both ripped off their strip of tape, and there sat two boxes, both filled with light pink balloons.

Chase gasped, then clapped his hands together. "It _is_ a girl! I won the bet!" He then grinned smugly at Ciara. "I guess I'll be getting your allowance for the week!"

Ciara narrowed her eyes at him.

"Uh oh," Aiden said under his breath.

"I'm not giving you anything!" Ciara said.

"But we had a deal! We shook on it!" Chase whined.

Ciara stormed over to the kitchen and took out a kitchen knife. She then walked over to her box of balloons and began popping the balloons with it. "We're not going to have a baby sister!"

"Ciara, stop that this instant!" Hope said, surprised that Ciara was taking it this roughly. She knew Ciara would take it roughly, but this was pretty bad.

Ciara popped some more.

Hope stood up and slammed her hand down on top of the table. "Ciara Alice Brady, you stop that right this **instant**!" she yelled. She had yelled loud enough to get Ciara's attention. Hope had never yelled at her like that before, but then again, Ciara had never acted this badly before.

Ciara let out a cry of frustration, threw the knife down on the floor, and turned Hope. "I will _never_ accept a new sister!" She then stormed off to her room, and slammed the door loudly behind her.

"Well at least _I'm_ happy, right?" Chase joked with a weak smile.

Hope's face suddenly paled, and she grabbed her stomach.

Aiden instantly ran to her and put his hands on her. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"It feels like it's happening again. I need to get to the hospital," Hope said.

"I'll call Julie and Doug to head over here." Aiden turned to Chase. "Will you and Ciara be okay here until Julie and Doug get here?"

Chase nodded. "I'm a little scared of Ciara right now, but we'll be fine. Go ahead."

"Don't worry. Doug and Julie aren't that far away," Aiden said, calling them up.

"Please, hurry," Hope said.

Aiden led her out of the house while he was still on the phone.

An hour had passed, and Aiden was anxiously pacing back and forth in the waiting room. He had wanted to be with Hope, but the doctors had insisted he stay out.

He was just about to ask the nurse for an update (even though she had told him several times she knew nothing, and that he had to wait for the doctor to come out) when the doctor finally came out of the room.

Aiden rushed over to Dr. Griffith. "What's wrong? Is Hope okay? Is the baby okay?"

Dr. Griffith nodded. "The placenta is detaching a bit more. Come into the room and we'll talk more."

Aiden followed the doctor into the room, and rushed over to Hope. He took her hand in his and kissed it. "Are you all right?"

Hope nodded. "I'm feeling better now. They gave me something to help with the pain."

"So far, your baby is hanging in there. I'm not saying things will get worse, but judging from what has happened so far, things could get worse," the doctor began.

"So, where do we go from here?" Aiden asked.

"Well, for now, just continue what you've been doing," the doctor said, looking at Hope. "No strenuous activity, no work, lots of bedrest, no intercourse…"

"And later?" Aiden asked.

Dr. Griffith sighed. "If the baby detaches anymore from the uterine lining, a choice may have to be made."

"What kind of choice?" Hope asked.

"Well, as hard as it is for me to say this, and as much as I hate to say it, it could come down to a choice between your life and the baby's," the doctor revealed.

Both Hope and Aiden were silent for a moment as they took in the seriousness of what the doctor had just said.

Aiden finally spoke first. "You mean, she'd have to get an abortion, or risk losing her own life?"

Dr. Griffith nodded. "That is correct. Going through a birth like this could be fatal to Hope. However, if we remove the baby before it gets to that point, then I see no reason why Hope couldn't survive."

"Well, we'd obviously have to choose an abortion," Aiden said right away just as Hope said at the same time, "Well, there's no way I'm having an abortion!"

They looked at each other, surprise, and a little bit of disgust in both their eyes.

"Excuse me?" they said, also in unison.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7:**_

"How could you even think about having our baby aborted?" Hope asked Aiden.

"How could you even think about allowing yourself to die? You would just leave me and the kids behind like that?" Aiden snapped back.

"It wouldn't be ideal, but my children always come first to me—including my unborn one." Hope said, placing her hands over her stomach.

"So screw the ones you already have, right?" Aiden asked.

"Let me remind you, that it might not even come to you having to choose. You could both come out of this perfectly fine," Dr. Griffith said quietly.

Hope and Aiden both ignored her.

"Ciara will have her father and you—not to mention Dad and Julie—and Chase will have you, Dad, and Julie as well." Hope reminded him.

"None of us can take the place of a mother. And what about me? Hm? You're just going to leave me?" Aiden asked.

"Bo can remarry one day, as can you. You'll have our daughters and your son. You will be just fine," Hope said, a little coldly.

"I can't even talk to you about this. You're being unreasonable!" Aiden snapped.

"Yeah, well, you're being selfish!" Hope snapped back.

Aiden glared at her for a moment, and opened his mouth as if he were about to say something. Then, he closed his mouth, and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

Hope smiled weakly at Dr. Griffith, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry about that. My husband has a temper on him sometimes. I mean, nothing violent of course, but he tends to act very…childish at times."

Dr. Griffith smiled in understanding. "No need to worry. You're not the first couple to argue over situations like this, and you certainly won't be the last. It's a lot to process right now. I'm sure you two will be able to work things out."

Hope sighed. "I hope so."

"And, like I said, it's not even anything definite. For all we know, you'll be able to carry the baby to term without any more setbacks for either of you," Dr. Griffith reassured.

Again, Hope smiled weakly. "I again, I hope so."

Ten minutes later, Hope had signed out, and she and Aiden were in the car on their way back home. They had rode in silence most of the way.

"I'm not getting an abortion. If I have to, I'll have papers drawn up stating that, if the situation where a choice has to be made comes up, I should be the one to die. I'll sign them," Hope said after a bit.

"I see you don't give a crap what I want. You only care about yourself, so there's no use in me arguing with you," Aiden said coldly.

"You know that's not true. I care about our baby. You, on the other hand, clearly do not. You're the one who only cares about yourself, Aiden!" Hope shot back.

Aiden shook his head. "No, I care about you, and our children who are already born. We haven't even met Haiden yet. She isn't even a fully developed person yet! It would be hard to lose her, yes, but since we never even met her, I will be much easier to say goodbye to her than it is to you, my wife."

Hope glared at him. "It doesn't matter if she isn't fully developed yet, she is still a human being—one we created together out of love. You should instantly love her, despite the fact that we haven't met her yet, or that she isn't fully developed yet!"

"I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree then," Aiden said.

Hope nodded. "I guess we will."

They drove the rest of the way in silence, and when they arrived at the house, Aiden didn't even hold open her door for her as he usually did.

"Nice, Aiden!" Hope said sarcastically as she slammed her door.

"What? Being pregnant doesn't make you an invalid!" Aiden snapped.

Hope wished looks really could kill—or at the very least shoot lasers at the person they were aimed at.

When they got into the house, Doug and Julie practically pounced on Hope, while the kids were nowhere to be seen.

"What happened? Did you lose the baby?" Julie asked with worry.

"Are you all right?" Doug asked her.

"The baby's fine," Hope said. "The placenta has just detached a little bit more."

"And she's agreed to kill herself to save the baby if things get any worse," Aiden said.

"What?" Julie and Doug both asked in unison.

"Explain," Julie said, a hand on her hip, and her eyes locked with Hope's.

"The doctor said that if the placenta detaches any more after this, I may have to make a decision between aborting the baby so that I can live, and giving up my life so that she can live. I might not make it through childbirth," Hope explained. "I chose to give up my own life for my baby's life if that happens."

"Are you nuts?" Doug asked just as Julie said, "That's a very noble decision."

Doug looked at her. "Excuse me? Do you mean to tell me you're okay with my daughter dying?"

"Well, obviously it's not ideal, but if it means saving the baby, then yes! This is a terrible situation, and frankly, I don't like either outcome, but sometimes we have to make sacrifices for our children no matter how terrible they may be!" Julie said, tears in her eyes.

"Exactly! Thank you!" Hope said.

"But what about her husband and the children she already has? Shawn, Ciara, and even Chase? What about her granddaughter Claire?" Doug asked.

"Exactly!" Aiden agreed. "Thank you! Plus, we've never met the baby. As awful as it will be to lose the baby, it would be worse to lose Hope, who we've already had years to know and love. You've had even more years to know and love her than I've had obviously."

Doug looked at Hope and pointed at Aiden. "Now you listen to your husband—father's orders! He knows what he' talking about."

Hope shook her head, her hands over her stomach. "I'm sorry, Daddy, but with all do respect, I am an adult now. I don't have to take your orders. I can't allow my baby to die just because I was too selfish. It's just not me."

Doug's eyes grew cold. "You're never too old for me to take you over my lap and give you a spanking!" he said angrily.

Julie swatted Doug on the shoulder. "Oh, stop that nonsense! You should be proud of your daughter! She is doing what is right and noble by choosing her baby over herself."

"Yeah, well, I see nothing noble about leaving her husband and the kids she already has!" Doug snapped. "Or us for that matter! No parent should ever have to bury their child!"

"My thoughts exactly!" Aiden said.

"Well, neither of you have a choice, because if it comes down to me or my baby, my baby will always win!" Hope snapped.

"Stop it!" Ciara screamed, as she ran down the stairs.

They all looked up in surprise.

Ciara had tears running down her cheeks. "Just stop fighting!" She looked at Hope. "I know it's all my fault! I made you so upset and angry when I popped the balloons that it hurt the baby. I never meant to hurt the baby! I'm so sorry!" Ciara ran over to Hope and hugged her. "But please don't leave me because you're mad at me! I don't want you to die! You're my mom, and I need you." Tears were streaming down her face now. "Even if she were a boy, I don't want to lose you just so I can have a baby sibling!" Ciara was sobbing by now.

Chase came down the stairs too, crying as well. Apparently, he and Ciara had both been listening on the stairwell. "Please, mom. Don't leave us. I've already lost a mom. I don't want to lose another."

Hope had tears in her eyes as well as she looked at Chase. "Sweetie, it might not even come to that." She then looked at Ciara. "Ciara, none of this was your fault. It would have happened whether you got angry or not."

Ciara looked up at her, her eyes still streaming with tears, and sniffled. "Then why are you willing to leave me? I don't want you to die, Mom!" She hugged Hope. "Please don't die, Mom!"

Chase started crying a fresh batch of tears. "Yes, please don't leave us. Please don't die." He hugged her too.

Hope couldn't help but cry now as well as she held Chase and Ciara in her arms. She didn't know what to do anymore.

"I can't take this," Julie said, leaving the house in tears.

Doug had tears in his eyes as well. He looked Hope in the eyes. "If this doesn't tell you what the right decision is, then I don't know what will." He then left, quietly shutting the door behind him.

It took fifteen minutes for Hope and Aiden to get the kids back in bed.

"Please tell me you won't leave us," Chase had said.

"Promise you won't die!" Ciara ordered.

"It's not even definite yet. Chances are, the baby and I will both be fine," Hope assured them.

"Promise!" Ciara ordered, more adamant this time.

Hope sighed. "I'll do everything I can to stay alive. That's all I can promise," Hope said.

The kids weren't a hundred percent happy with her response, but it got them to go to bed.

Now, Hope sat on the bed, contemplating what she was going to do. Aiden was in the bathroom. He hadn't said much at all to her directly since arriving home. All he had done was try his best to soothe the children.

Hope was beginning to have second thoughts. She didn't want to lose Haiden. She wasn't sure she could handle losing another baby. Yet, she was beginning to see how her choice would affect the ones she loved, and that simply wouldn't do either.

Suddenly, she felt a slight stomach pain, but she knew from being pregnant three times before that this wasn't anything to worry about. She smiled. "Aiden, come here, quick!"

Aiden rushed out of the bathroom. "What is it? Are you in pain again?"

Hope shook her head. "Just come here."

Aiden walked over to her and sat down on the bed beside her. "What is it?"

She took his hand and placed it over her stomach. "Feel that?"

Aiden felt for a moment, then smiled when he felt movement. "Did she just kick?"

Hope grinned and nodded. "Yes, she did!"

Aiden continued to feel the baby kick. "Wow. That's such an odd feeling!"

"Tell me about it!" Hope teased.

They grinned at each other.

Aiden kept his hand on her stomach, enjoying the proof that his daughter really was alive and living in his wife's womb. He looked Hope in the eyes. "Baby, I'm sorry. You know, I don't want to lose our daughter either. Of course I love her! It's just… I have to be selfish here. I can't lose you. I never met our daughter, but I've been in love with you for quite a while now. I already lost a wife. I don't want to lose another one. I know, you already lost a child and don't want to lose another one, but… I just feel like no matter what choice we make here, someone's going to be unhappy."

Hope sighed. "I know exactly how you feel. I'm starting to have second thoughts about choosing Haiden over me, and I feel terrible about it. But Ciara and Chase need me too."

"And me," Aiden reminded her. "You know, it hurt me when you said I could just remarry. That wouldn't bother you to leave me and have me marry someone else? Because, let me tell you, there will be no one else for me after you. You're the one great love of my life! There is no one else for me but you even after death."

Hope took his hand that was on her stomach and kissed it. "And you. I don't want to have to leave you or the kids either." She gently stroked his cheek. "Aiden, the thought of living without you…I can't bear it! In fact, the thought of you with another woman makes me want to kill her. I just wouldn't want you to be sad and missing me for the rest of your life if something were to ever happen to me."

Aiden sighed. "Well, I'm sorry, but that is exactly what I would be. I'd never remarry."

Hope looked sad. "I don't think I'd ever want to remarry either if anything were to happen to you. I'll never find another love as strong as ours, so there'd be no point in it."

"How about this?" Aiden suggested. "We just take it one day at a time. We don't need to make any decisions now. Heck, we might not ever have to make the decision, so there's no use in worrying over something that might never happen."

Hope smiled and nodded. "Taking it one day at a time seems good to me."

They kissed.

Hope then laid down in bed. "I'm getting tired now. Kiss me until I fall asleep?" she smiled at her husband, her arms out to him.

"Mm… Now that, my Love," He clicked off the lights, then took her into his arms, "is something we both can agree on.

They grinned at each other, then kissed until they no longer had the energy to do so.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8:**_

Hope was now six months pregnant, and she was strictly ordered by Dr. Griffith to take it easy, but it still didn't stop her from decorating Haiden's nursery. However, Aiden had strictly for forbade her from painting it. He had hired painters for that, and hadn't allowed her in the room until the paint had completely dried.

"The paint fumes are not good for you, or our baby," he had said. "Anyway, "I don't want you reaching way up, or stepping on a ladder in your condition."

"I'm not a feeble old woman," she had grumbled. Sometimes her hormones made her grumpy even when she knew he was right.

"No, but you're carrying our baby in a high-risk pregnancy, and I'm not about to risk anything happening to you or our baby girl," he had said calmly.

Hope was grateful to him for putting up with her moodiness lately. She loved him more than she ever could have imagined she would that day they met. She had thought Bo was her soulmate all these years, but now, she knew he was just the prelude to something even better.

She also wasn't allowed to move any furniture around, but Aiden and Rafe had been nice enough to help with that. Now, she was just placing the small things, like the princess lamp on the night stand, and hanging the Disney character mobile over the crib. Well, he was trying to hang it anyway. She couldn't quite reach. She stood on her tiptoes, and still couldn't reach.

She jumped when she heard Aiden's voice, and felt his hand on her shoulder. "Baby, how many times do I have to tell you? I don't want you reaching up high like that! You could have fallen." He took the mobile from her, and hung it easily above the crib.

Hope turned around and pouted. She knew he was just looking out for her and the baby, but she still hated to be chastised. "I thought you were working."

"Don't look so happy to see me," Aiden joked.

Hope calmed her anger, and wrapped her arms around him, her head barely being able to rest against his chest now that her stomach had considerably grown. "I'm always happy to see you."

He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. "Likewise. I'm out on my lunch break. I brought you home some lunch. I wanted to make sure you didn't forget to eat. I know working on the nursery usually makes you forget the world outside." He grinned.

Hope kissed his lips. "Thank you. What did you get?"

"Well, I remember this morning you said you were hungry for a turkey sandwich with lots of mayo, so I got you just that! I also got you those cheddar Sun chips you like, _and_ I got you a chocolate éclair from your favorite bakery." He kissed her cheek. "To drink, I got you milk because it's good for our baby."

Hope kissed him on the lips, her hands over his lower back. "You're too good to me."

"Nothing's too good for you, Beautiful," Aiden said, his eyes lowered with love for her.

They kissed again.

Aiden broke the kiss. "I got the baby something perfect," he said with a grin.

Hope grinned too. "What?"

Aiden walked over to the doorway, where he had set down a shopping bag. He brought it over to her, then took out the first item.

Hope took it from him. It was an orange onesie that was made to look like a prison jumpsuit. It read, _I just did nine months on the inside_. She covered her mouth and smiled, then looked at Aiden. "That is too stinking cute!"

Aiden laughed. "It's it perfect? You're a cop and I'm a lawyer, and so it's like, we put him in jail, jai being your womb in this case."

"Except you work to stop people from going to jail," Hope reminded him.

Aiden shook his head. "Not for long."

Hope raised an eyebrow. "What? Aiden, don't tell me you quit your job! With the new baby, and me not working just yet—"

Aiden cut her off. "Don't be silly! What I meant is, I'm in the process of switching over from a defense attorney to a prosecuting attorney."

Hope's eyes lit up. "What? Since when?"

Aiden grinned. "A couple weeks now."

Hope playfully smacked his chest with both hands. "Aiden! Why didn't you tell me?"

Aiden grinned. "I wanted it to be a surprise. It will be official in another week or two. I know how much my being a defense attorney has caused problems with us in the past, and I don't want it to any longer. I want you to be proud of both me and my work."

Hope rested her hands on his chest. "Darling, I'm always proud of you. I know you work hard no matter what you do."

Aiden nodded. "I know, but I think this change is best for all of us. This way, I can in a way, help you keep the streets safe for our children."

Hope kissed him. "I love you more and more with every day that passes. You know that, right?"

Aiden moaned. "Mm, and I love you more and more with every day that passes as well, my Love."

They kissed again.

Hope was the one to break the kiss this time. She grinned up at him. "Can we eat now? I'm starved!"

Aiden laughed. "One more onesie to look at, then we can." He took out the second onesie from the bag and handed it to her.

This one was a plain white onesie with in black writing in the front, _My mommy's a cop, and my daddy's a lawyer…_ Then on the back, it read, _So watch how you handle me!_

Hope laughed out loud at this one. "Where do you find these things?"

"I found it at one of those specialty carts in the mall," Aiden said, a grin on his face. "Do you like it?"

Hope put the onesie back in the bag, then smiled and nodded at him. "I love them both! They are so cute. Thank you."

They kissed.

"You don't have to thank me, Baby," Aiden murmured. "I was happy to buy them for our daughter. Gosh, I love the sound of that! Our daughter."

"Mm, me too," Hope said, still smiling.

They kissed again for a moment, then Hope's stomach growled.

Aiden broke the kiss. "I think that's our cue to go eat our lunch!"

Hope grinned, and blushed. "Yes!"

They then headed hand-in-hand down the stairs to go get their lunch.

Hope was now eight months and one week pregnant. She felt fat, and miserable, and Aiden noticed her change in mood, so he took her out to dinner to try to cheer her up. The kids both had sleepovers at a friend's house since it was Friday night.

Now, they sat at Chez Rouge, but Hope still looked distraught.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Aiden asked, taking her hands in his own. He kissed them. "Don't you feel good?"

Hope sighed. "I'm just ready to have this baby already. I still have just under a month left. It's exhausting, and I'm constantly worried something bad will happen to our baby."

"It's only three more weeks, Baby. Everything will be fine. You've been going for your checkups three times a week, and Dr. Griffith still says everything looks alright, doesn't she?"

Hope nodded. "Still, she said I'm not out of the woods yet by any means."

"All we can do is take things one day at a time, and pray for the best!" Aiden told her.

Hope nodded.

Just then their waitress came over. She was wearing a tight little black dress that looked like it was painted on. She had perfect, flawless skin, and her hair was long and blonde. She reminded Hope a bit of model Heidi Klum.

Aiden smiled at the waitress in such a way, that Hope knew he noticed how hot she was.

"Well hello, there! My name is Jenna. This is my first night working here, so I'd appreciate your going easy on me," she said with a dashing smile, displaying a row of perfectly straight white teeth.

"Well, hello there, Jenna! No worries. I'm sure you will do just fine," Aiden said to her.

Hope glared at Jenna. She didn't know if it was the hormones or what, but it was suddenly making her feel ill feelings toward Jenna, even though Jenna hadn't done anything to her.

"What can I get y'all to drink tonight?" Jenna asked.

"I'll just have a water, thank you," Hope said to her.

"And I'll have a coffee and a water please," Aiden said to her.

Hope found it sweet that he refused to drink since she herself couldn't drink, but it didn't stifle the annoyance she felt at the sight of Aiden smiling at the pretty—and busty—blonde.

"I'll be right back with your drinks!" Jenna said with a perky smile before she walked off to get their drinks, slowly swaying her butt as she did so.

Aiden watched her leave.

"Pretty girl, huh?" Hope asked, semi-coldly.

Aiden looked at her and blushed. "Huh? I didn't notice."

Hope rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."

Aiden didn't say anything to that.

They looked over their menus in silence, and when Jenna came back with their drinks, they ordered their food.

"So, where are you from? I detect a little bit of an accent," Aiden asked Jenna.

Jenna smiled, and coyly pushed a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Really? You can tell? I thought after a year living here, the accent might be gone. I'm from Alabama. I decided to move on up to Salem to be with my grandma. She's not sick or anything, but my grandpa died recently, and I didn't want her living alone. I couldn't bear the thought of shipping her off to a home either. I think it's important to spend time with my grandmother while I still have her."

"Aw, that's so sweet of you! Your grandma is lucky to have such a sweet granddaughter," Aiden told her.

Jenna blushed, and moved her hair behind her ear again, even though it was still behind her ear from when she had just put it there moments earlier. "Aw, thank you! You're too kind."

Hope rolled her eyes. She did not like the way Aiden was flirting with the waitress, nor did she like the way the waitress was looking at him.

"Shouldn't you be putting our order in now?" Hope asked, a fake smile on her face.

Jenna blushed. "Of course! Sorry about that." She gave Aiden a smile. "I'll get right on it." Then, she left.

"Well that was kind of rude," Aiden said to Hope.

Hope rolled her eyes. "So was flirting with my husband! Not that you seemed to mind."

Aiden laughed. "What? She was not flirting with me. We were just making conversation."

Hope raised an eyebrow. "Since when do people make conversation with their waiter or waitress? Or, in her case, her customer?"

"Um…All the time? Seriously, Hope, what is the big deal?" Aiden asked her.

"Nothing. Forget I even said anything," Hope said coldly. She knew deep down she was overreacting, but she still felt angry and bitter inside. She softened a bit. "I guess my hormones are just getting the best of me."

Aiden left it at that. Hope knew that he knew better than to push an argument with her when she was pregnant. It would not end nicely for him.

"So, since the baby is due in a few weeks, we need to decide upon Haiden Lily, or Haiden Destiny," Aiden said.

Hoped calmed down a bit. After all, she loved talking about their baby. "Well, what sounds better? Haiden Destiny Jennings or Haiden Lily Jennings?"

They both thought about it for a moment.

"I do like the thought of Haiden being our destiny, but Haiden Lily does sound so cute together. Plus, you thought of Lily, and I thought of Haiden. This way we both named her instead of just me," Aiden said.

Hope grinned. "That is exactly what I was thinking! Anyway, it's more like we're each other's destiny, than she is ours. She is more of our miracle."

Aiden took her hands in his across the table and kissed them. "So true."

Hope had played nice with Jenna for the rest of dinner even though Aiden had continued to talk to her. It turns out, Jenna only worked as a waitress part-time. She was a model as her regular job. Of course she was! She was so thin and beautiful with perfect skin and long, luscious-looking blonde hair. Her body was perfectly proportioned and she had stunning green eyes. Of course, her ample chest couldn't be overlooked either. Hope knew that if she has a straight woman had noticed all this, then Aiden as a straight man would most _definitely_ have noticed.

Now, as Hope looked at herself in the mirror, in her maternity nightgown, eight months pregnant, she felt like a cow; not the decent-looking woman she had once had considered herself to be. Thinking of how beautiful Jenna was, and how Aiden seemed to enjoy talking to her so much, it only made her feel worse. Her hormones kicked in, and she burst into tears.

Aiden came rushing into the room. "Baby, what's wrong?" He took her into his arms.

She rested her head against his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm so fat and ugly now! I'm not as pretty as Jenna!"

Aiden was confused for a moment. "Jenna? Who's Jenna?"

"Hope looked up at him. "The waitress! I saw how much you enjoyed talking to her. It's because she is model beautiful and she's so thin… I'm fat and just not what I used to be anymore."

Aiden looked at her in surprise. "Baby, you have got to get over this idea that I was flirting with Jenna! I was honestly just making conversation. I would have done the same thing if we had had a waiter. And does that mirror not work or something? Because, Baby, all I see when I look at you is the most beautiful woman in the world, looking even more beautiful than usual because she's carrying my baby."

"You're just saying that because you feel obligated," Hope said with a sniffle.

Aiden shook his head. "No, I'm saying it because it is the truth! You are so beautiful you take my breath away, Hope! And you're not fat, you're pregnant. He pointed to her stomach. "Heck, even if that was fat and not baby, I still wouldn't find you any less beautiful. If I'm lying, may God strike Chase down."

Hope sniffled again, but her tears started to dry up. "You really do mean it."

Aiden nodded. "You know I'd never risk my son's life." He grinned.

"So, you don't think Jenna is prettier than me?" Hope asked. "I know she was flirting with you even if you weren't flirting with her."

Aiden shook his head. "Not even close! For one, I prefer brunettes." He gently stroked Hope's brown hair. For two, you are already as beautiful as it gets! There's no improving on perfection." He kissed her neck. "And third, your smile alone can turn any bad day into the best day just because I know that I have you every day for the rest of my life." He kissed her softly on the lips, then rested his forehead against hers. "I thank God every day for you, Hope, and each day I wonder how I got so lucky to find you. You're already more beautiful than I ever imagined one woman could be, but your personality is just as beautiful, which makes your level of beauty untouchable by any other woman. You're my soulmate Hope, and no other woman could ever even dream of taking your place no matter how much they flirt with me. It's only you for me Hope. It's always been you and only you from the day I first laid eyes on you."

Hope smirked. "Even though you couldn't stand the sight of me?"

He pulled her closer yet. "I was in protective of my son mode. That is the only reason why I was such a jerk. Trust me, I could definitely stand the sight of you." He grinned.

Hope grinned too. "I love you so much, Aiden! I'm sorry my hormones have turned me into such a blubbering idiot! It's so not like me to act this way! I just don't ever want to lose you."

Aiden rested his forehead against hers. "Well, you don't have to worry, because you're never going to lose me."

They kissed again.

"I wish you could make love to me," Hope said, her forehead against his again.

"There's other ways to show you how much I love you without actually making love to you," Aiden said. He left Hope just long enough to turn off the lights, then, he walked back over to her and picked her up. "I'm going to make you feel as beautiful as you are tonight," he murmured in her ear.

"I love you so much," Hope whispered, her eyes lowered, and her lips brushing against his.

His eyes lowered with love as well. "I love you too, Baby…So, so much!"

"Show me how much?" Hope asked.

Aiden responded by kissing her, then carrying her to bed to do exactly as she had requested.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9:**_

The next morning, Aiden woke to Hope crying out in pain and grabbing her stomach.

"Aiden! It's happening again!" she cried.

He quickly snapped into action. He took her into his arms. "I'm calling an ambulance," he said, automatically getting on the phone.

"No, please! Take me yourself. I don't want to waste time waiting for an ambulance," Hope said frantically.

Aiden quickly grabbed her some clothes and helped dress her, then he gently carried her out of bed and down the stairs. "It's going to be okay."

"I can't lose this baby, Aiden. Not when I'm so close to the end!" Hope cried. She then cried out in pain again.

Aiden brought her out to the car, and carefully set her down. He opened the door for her, and she got in, then he went to the other side, got in, and took off. He wasn't about to lose the baby either, or his wife.

Hope had called Dr. Griffith while Aiden was driving, so Dr. Griffith and staff were ready and waiting as soon as Hope arrived. They rushed to her side, and brought her into a room immediately.

Aiden followed right behind.

Dr. Griffith had a sonogram all ready, and when she took a look, her expression paled. "The baby has fully detached from the uterus. If we want any chance of either of you living, we have to induce labor now."

"But it's too soon!" Hope cried out. She took Aiden's hand and squeezed it. "Don't let them take our baby!"

Aiden kissed her hand. "Baby, she has to be born now. We have no choice!"

Dr. Griffith nodded. "Hope, if we keep this baby in you any longer, you will die. And if you die, the baby dies anyway. We have no choice."

Hope started crying. "But it's too early! She won't be fully formed yet!"

"We'll worry about that once she is born. We could inject you with Corticosteroid to help accelerate the baby's lung and brain maturity, but we'd have to wait twenty-four hours before you can give birth, and that could be _very_ dangerous to you, Hope," Dr. Griffith explained.

"What are the chances of the baby surviving if she has it now?" Aiden asked, still holding Hope's hand.

"Not as good as they would be if we waited, but there would still be a good chance since she is only three weeks away from being nine months in," Dr. Griffith answered.

Aiden squeezed Hope's hand. "Baby, please. Listen to me. I can't lose you. You have to have the baby now."

Hope nodded, tears streaming down her face. "All right. I'll have the baby now."

Aiden kissed her hand. "Thank you."

"All right, let's scrub up then induce labor," Dr. Griffith instructed her staff. She turned to Aiden. "If you plan on being here for the birth, you need to scrub up too."

"Do you want me here?" Aiden asked Hope, kissing her hand again.

Hope nodded. "Yes. I can't do this without you."

Aiden kissed her softly on the lips. "Everything will be okay, Baby. Trust me." He then went to get scrubbed up, extremely worried about his wife and baby, but at the same time, very excited that he was finally going to be able to meet his daughter.

An hour later, it was finally time for the baby to arrive.

"We need one more hard push, come on, now, Hope you can do it!" Dr. Griffith urged.

"I can't!" Hope cried.

"Baby, you can. Do it for our daughter, okay? The sooner we get her out of there, the sooner the doctors can help her," Aiden soothed.

"Aiden, I can't!" Hope cried.

Aiden took her hand and kissed it. "Just squeeze my hand as hard as you need to. You can do this."

"I'll count to three, all right?" Dr. Griffith asked.

"All right," Hope said, wincing in pain.

"One… Two… Three!" Dr. Griffith counted. "Push!"

Hope screamed as she pushed, and she squeezed Aiden's hand as hard as she possibly could.

A moment later, she heard her baby cry, then saw her little Haiden in Dr. Griffith's arms.

"Congratulations, you did it!" Dr. Griffith said, with a grin.

Hope and Aiden smiled at each other.

"See, Baby? I knew you could do it!" Aiden said to her.

They kissed, happy tears running down both their cheeks.

"Do you want to cut the cord?" Dr. Griffith asked Aiden.

Aiden's face paled. "Um, no I'm good, thank you."

Dr. Griffith laughed, and cut the cord. Then, she handed the baby off to the nurses, who promptly washed her off.

"Is she okay?" Hope asked. "I want to hold her."

"Her crying is a good sign. We're going to have to put her in an incubator to help with the rest of her brain and lung development," Dr. Griffith said.

The nurse finished washing off the baby, then placed a diaper on her, wrapped her in a pink blanket, and handed her to Hope.

Haiden stopped crying, and looked at her parents in wonderment.

Hope had tears of happiness running down her cheeks as she looked into the beautiful blue eyes of her daughter. "Hello, Haiden! I'm your mommy! You've got your daddy's eyes."

"She's beautiful, Hope. She's got your nose. I hope she has your smile too," Aiden said, smiling down at his daughter. "My beautiful Haiden."

"I'm sorry, I have to take her now. We need to get her in the incubator," the nurse said.

"But I just got her!" Hope wined.

"I know, but you will see her soon enough. What matters now is keeping your baby healthy, and at full development," Dr. Griffith replied.

"Mommy will see you later, all right?" Hope asked Haiden.

"And Daddy will too," Aiden said, gently stroking Haiden's bald head.

The nurse took Haiden from Hope then, and left the room.

"How is my wife? Is she going to be okay?" Aiden then asked Dr. Griffith.

Dr. Griffith nodded. "Yes. She will be all right. We got the baby out in time, and it was a very successful delivery!"

Aiden kissed Hope softly on the lips. "Good because I simply couldn't live without her," Aiden said, taking her hand in his and gently squeezing it.

Hope smiled at him.

"So, Haiden needs to stay in the hospital for another three weeks until she is fully developed. Then, she will be free to go home with you guys."

"So, she will be okay even though she was born so early?" Hope asked.

"Nothing is a hundred percent, but I can say her chances look good. I've seen babies survive that were born a month early, and they ended up living a healthy life!" Dr. Griffith assured them.

Hope and Aiden grinned at each other, and squeezed each other's hand, and then kissed again.

"And when can my wife get out of here?" Aiden asked.

"We would like to keep her here for a couple days just to make sure there are no complications, but I don't foresee anything going wrong." Dr. Griffith looked at Hope. "You should be able to go home no later than Monday morning."

"Can I feed my baby?" Hope asked.

"It'll have to be pumped into a bottle. Premature babies aren't ready to be breastfed until they are healthy enough to do so," Dr. Griffith replied. "You will be out of the hospital before she is, but I'm sure you will be here daily to see your baby. Maybe you can give us a few bottles in advance, or we could go the formula option, but breast milk is better for her."

"I will provide you with the breastmilk of course!" Hope said.

Aiden nodded. "Yes, we want our baby getting healthy as soon as possible," he said, rubbing his thumb over the back of Hope's hand.

Hope nodded her agreement, and they smiled at each other and kissed.

"I'll let you two have some alone time," Dr. Griffith said. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Thank you," Hope said.

"Yes, thank you," Aiden replied.

Dr. Griffith then left, shutting the door behind her.

"So we're officially parents to a baby girl! Well, you already have a daughter, but…" Aiden trailed off.

Hope kissed his hand. "This is my first with you."

"And your last," Aiden said.

Hope laughed. "You got that right!"

Aiden laughed as well. "Can you imagine if you had had twins?"

"Oh my gosh, Aiden, I think we'd both go insane!" Hope said.

"In a couple years, we'd be dealing with two teenagers and two two-year-olds!" Aiden said.

"It's going to be bad enough dealing with two teenagers and _one_ two-year-old," Hope said.

"But it will be worth it," Aiden added.

Hope nodded. "So worth it!"

They kissed softly on the lips.

"I love you so much, Hope," Aiden said.

"I love you too." Hope kissed him again. "Thank you for giving me another baby."

Aiden grinned. "Are you kidding? Thank you, Baby, for giving me a daughter!"

They kissed again.

"Mm, and you know what the best part is aside from you and our baby being healthy?" Aiden asked.

Hope raised an eyebrow. "No, what?"

Aiden grinned. "Being able to make love to you again."

Hope grinned as well. "I can hardly wait!"

"Mm, me neither," Aiden said. He crawled into bed next to her, and they held each other and kissed. That would have to do until Hope was released from the hospital.

Aiden opened the door to their home, and let Hope in. She had just been released from the hospital, and after visiting their baby, they headed home.

"I wish they had let me feed her," Hope said.

"They will, once she is well enough. They just want to make sure she develops nicely," Aiden said shutting the door behind them. He then wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the side of her neck. "She's so beautiful just like her momma!"

Hope smiled. "I'm glad Dad and Julie are letting the kids stay at their place. I need some time to just unwind for a bit. You know, I half expected you to have a bunch of people here ready to jump out and surprise me to welcome me home."

Aiden nodded. "I thought about it." He turned her around so that she was facing him. "But then I thought of how I haven't been able to make love to you in so long, and how now I finally can!"

Hope smiled at him, and draped her arms over his shoulders. "And the kids aren't home, so we don't have to worry about any interruptions." She stroked his hair.

He pulled her closer by the waist so that their bodies were touching, then brushed his lips against her ear to murmur, "And I can make you scream with pleasure as loudly as I can make you scream."

Her eyes darkened with a desire that matched the desire in his eyes. "Well in that case…" She brushed her lips up against his ear. "Make love to me, Mr. Jennings."

Aiden picked her up. "With pleasure," he said, kissing her the whole way up the staircase, and to the bedroom.

Hope tilted her head back, her mouth hung open a bit and her eyes closed as Aiden entered her, making her remember how good he always made her feel. She gasped. "Aiden, you feel so good…."

He moaned as he continued to make love to her. "Likewise, Baby. You feel incredible…" He kissed her shoulder, then trailed his kisses up her neck, over her jawline, and finally to her mouth where their lips finally met.

She pressed her fingers firmly against his back, her toes curling a bit he entered her again, and then again. "Ugh, Aiden!"

He kissed her neck as her head fell back again, and continued to make love to her. It felt so good to make love to her again. It was even better than he had remembered.

He ran his hands over her breasts, then gently kissed them, wanting to pleasure every inch of her body.

After a moment, she moved them so that she was the one on top. She placed her hands on his sides for support.

Aiden held onto her sides as he continued to make love to her.

Her breathing intensified as she moved with him, and they brought each other closer to climax.

When it hit, he did indeed make her scream so loudly with pleasure that it was a very good thing the kids weren't there. His screams of pleasure were in synch with hers, her pleasured screams intensifying his own pleasure.

When it was over, she gently removed herself from him, and took her place beside him. She placed her hand over his chest and kissed his chest. She sighed heavily. "My gosh, that was incredible! Thank you so much for that, Mr. Jennings." She grinned at him.

He looked surprised. "Thank me? No, thank you, Baby! Ugh!" He kissed her hungrily on the lips. "You made me feel _so_ good, Mrs. Jennings."

They kissed some more.

"We won't be able to do this as often once the baby gets home, you know," Hope said, resting her head on his chest, and gently drumming her fingers on his chest.

He sighed. "I know, but babies sleep a lot, right?"

Hope nodded. "They do, but not all night."

"So, we can put the baby in her nursery…" he gently ran his fingers down her arm, "place a monitor in there…" He began kissing her neck. "Then have a little fun in between feedings." His fingers slowly trailed down her body.

"Hope closed her eyes and smiled. "With a new baby, we might be too tired to…" She trailed off as he continued to kiss her neck, gently nipping at it, his hand roaming over her right breast. "Again?" she asked.

"Mm hmm. We might as well make the most of our time without the kids," he murmured. He then raised an eyebrow at her. "Unless you're too tired?"

She rolled her eyes, and took his face between her hands. "Shut up and make love to me some more!"

Aiden's eyes lowered with love for her. He moaned. "You got it, Baby!"

They grinned at each other, then made love again, this time even better than the last.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10:**_

The kids hadn't been able to see Haiden since she hadn't been at full health, but now, Haiden was where she should be healthy-wise and was being released from the hospital. Chase and Ciara were so excited to see their new baby sister!

"Can we come along to the hospital to pick her up?" Ciara had asked.

But Both Hope and Aiden had decided to let everyone meet the baby in a less hectic environment. Therefore, Doug and Julie would stay at home with Chase and Ciara, and Hope and Aiden would bring the baby to them. Other various family members and friends wanted to come and see the baby as well, so it would be a mini get together in the house for everyone to meet Haiden.

So, Hope and Aiden arrived at the hospital, hand-in-hand, ready to take their beautiful little baby girl home.

Kayla was there to greet them. Of course, since she worked at the hospital, she had not only met Haiden several times already, but helped to take care of her as well. "I bet you're excited to finally be brining your baby girl home!" she said, a huge smile on her face. "You two did good work! She is the cutest thing I ever did see."

Hope and Aiden grinned at each other.

"She's gets it from her Momma!" Aiden said.

Hope squeezed his hand. "And her daddy too." She kissed him. "She has your gorgeous blue eyes."

They kissed again.

"I'm taking it, you brought that for Haiden?" Kayla asked, with a smile as she nodded toward the baby carrier Aiden had in his hands.

"No, it's mine. I wanted to be carried in, but Hope refused to carry me," Aiden joked.

Hope playfully swatted his shoulder. "Stop!" she said with a laugh.

Aiden grinned, and handed it over to Kayla.

"Well, I will go get your daughter, and while I'm doing that, Haiden's release papers are ready for signing up at the desk," Kayla said.

"All right." Hope headed over to sign the papers.

"Thank you, Kayla, for accepting me. I know Hope used to be married to your brother, so you probably weren't thrilled with the idea of her and I being together, but—"

Kayla cut Aiden off. "Aiden, it's all water under the bridge. As much as I love my brother, he chose to abandon her, so it is his loss. "I see how happy you've made Hope. In fact, she seems even happier with you than I ever saw her with my brother, and to me, that says a lot." She placed her hand over his shoulder. "Thank you for taking such good care of her, and for loving her and making her happy again. I will be forever grateful to you for that."

"Yeah, well she gives me as much happiness as I give her," Aiden said.

Kayla smiled, and gave him a quick hug. "I'll go get your daughter," she then said.

"What was that all about?" Hope asked, walking over to him, and draping her arms over his shoulders.

"Kayla was just thanking me for making you so happy," Aiden replied.

Hope kissed him. "You do make me happy. So, deliriously happy."

Aiden gently stroked her cheek. "Likewise, Baby."

They kissed some more until they head Kayla coming back with their daughter.

"Here she is!" Kayla said. She then looked at the baby, "Are you excited to go home? It is a lot nicer there than this stuffy hospital."

Hope and Aiden both grinned big, and walked over to their daughter.

"Hey, Baby girl! Are you ready to come home? Just wait until you see your room. You're going to love it!" Aiden gushed.

"Daddy bought you all kinds of toys," Hope then told her.

"And your grandparents bought you so many clothes, you'll grow out of them before you even have time to wear them!" Aiden added.

Kayla laughed. "I can already see how spoiled she is going to be."

"Are you kidding me? Aiden's going to give her the moon!" Hope said.

"Like you won't be spoiling her too," Aiden said, a smirk on his face.

"Of course I'll be giving her the stars," Hope teased.

They all laughed.

After a little more small talk with Kayla, Hope and Aiden said their goodbyes to her, then headed out of the hospital.

"I hope she likes us," Aiden said. "I mean, I know she'll love you, but I always worry I'm going to be one of those parents their kid just doesn't like," he said as he strapped Haiden's seat into the car.

"Are you kidding me?" Hope asked in confusion. "Why would you even think that? Haiden will adore you! Chase does, doesn't he? Heck, even Ciara adores you now."

Aiden nodded. "I know. I guess I'm just worried it will be different with a girl." He finished strapping the baby in, then gently shut the door.

Hope hugged him from behind and kissed the side of his neck. "I have no doubt in my mind that Haiden is going to be a total daddy's girl. If anything, she might like you better than she likes me!"

Aiden turned around to face her, and wrapped his hands around her waist. "Are _you_ kidding _me_? How could she not love you, Baby? She is going to be very attached to her momma! She will sense how much you love her, and she will love you just as much. You're going to be a fantastic mom just as you always have been."

"And you're going to be a fantastic dad just like _you've_ always been," Hope assured him.

They kissed.

"Now, let's get our baby girl home and show everyone what a cute baby we made!" Aiden said with a grin at Hope.

Hope laughed, and grinned back at him. "Sounds good!"

They kissed once more, then Aiden held the door open for Hope. Once she got in, he shut it behind her, got in on the driver's side, then finally they were off to introduce their beautiful baby girl to the rest of the family.

"There they are!" Aiden could hear Julie say as he opened the door to his and Hope's home.

"Here she is! But talk quietly, guys. We don't want to startle her. Remember, she is new to this world," Aiden said, seeing Chase and Ciara already both making a beeline for her.

"Can I hold her?" Chase asked.

"Sure, but sit on the couch first," Aiden ordered.

Chase and Ciara both ran to the couch.

Hope gently took her daughter out of the carrier. Haiden wined a bit, but Hope gently rocked her in her arms, and Haiden calmed right down.

"Remember to hold her head," Hope said as she gently handed Haiden to Chase.

"I will," Chase said, his eyes wide as he looked at his new baby sister. "She's so cute!" he gushed.

Hope and Aiden smiled as they watched Chase with their daughter. Their arms were around each other.

"Hi, Haiden! I'm your big brother Chase! I promise to take care of you and love you forever," Chase said, gently kissing Haiden's forehead.

Everyone in the room let out an "Aw," except for Ciara.

"Let me hold her now!" Ciara said.

Chase gently and carefully handed Haiden over.

"Remember, watch her head," Aiden reminded her.

Ciara rolled her eyes at him. "I know how to handle a baby, Aiden. I'm not stupid."

"Ciara, don't be a brat," Hope chastised.

"Sorry," Ciara said, thought she didn't sound too sorry. She smiled down at Haiden and kissed her tiny cheek. "You're cute, but not as cute as me. But, you're okay for a baby. And, I love you too—even though you're a girl."

"Trust me, that's her own little weird way of saying she approves," Hope said to their guests.

Everyone chuckled. They all knew how Ciara could be.

"All right, let the grandma hold her grandbaby!" Julie said, gently taking the baby from Ciara.

Haiden started to cry as soon as Julie held her.

"Don't worry, Haiden. She has that effect on a lot of people!" Doug joked.

Aiden laughed, and they high fived.

Julie glared at Doug. "If I weren't holding this baby right now, I'd smack ya one." She then glared at Aiden. "And you too."

Dough and Aiden both stopped laughing, but it didn't stop them from snickering.

Hope rolled her eyes, but smiled. She loved seeing her husband and father getting along so well.

An hour later, and Haiden was wiped out from visiting with Doug, Julie, Eric, Sonny, Will, Rafe, Roman, Jennifer, Lucas, Abigail, and JJ.

Finally, everyone had left, and Hope and Aiden were left alone with the baby. Doug and Julie had taken the kids to dinner and a movie.

Hope was now feeding Haiden in bed.

When Aiden came into the room and found his wife breastfeeding their baby in bed, he couldn't help but joke about it. He sat down next to Hope, then leaned toward Haiden to speak to her. "Hey, it's my turn!"

Hope rolled her eyes at him, but smiled nonetheless. "Hey, keep things clean in front of our daughter."

Aiden kissed her cheek. "She's only a few weeks old. She doesn't understand what I'm saying anyway."

"She's so hungry tonight," Hope said, looking down at her daughter with love.

"So would I be if I got to drink from that!" Aiden teased, nodding toward her breast.

Again, Hope rolled her eyes. "There's no taming you, is there?"

Aiden shook his head. "Not when it comes to you."

They kissed.

"I love you," Hope said.

"I love you too, Baby. So much," Aiden murmured. They kissed again, then Hope went back to concentrating on their baby.

That night, they lie in bed together, holding each other as Haiden slept in her nursery.

"I love you so much. Thank you again for giving me a daughter," Aiden said, gently kissing her neck.

"And thank you for giving _me_ another daughter!" She kissed his lips. "I know I wanted a boy, but now that we have Haiden, there is nothing I want more than our daughter."

"We could always still try for a son," Aiden joked.

"Only if you plan of carrying him!" Hope joked back.

They laughed.

Then Aiden grew serious. "Seriously, Baby, I don't think I've ever been as happy as I am right now, here with you, our children all safe and sleeping down the hall." He took her hand in his and kissed it. "I thank God every day for you, Beautiful. I consider myself the luckiest man on earth to have you and our children."

Hope took his face gently between her hands and kissed him softy on the lips. "And I thank God every day for you. I'm certainly the luckiest _woman_ on earth having, you and our children."

They kissed some more.

"Mm," Aiden moaned between kisses. "Do you think Haiden will be sleeping long enough for us to…" he trailed off.

Hope kissed the side of his neck, and pulled him on top of her. "She should be," she said with a grin.

He grinned down at her. "Well then what do you say, I show you how much I love you, and how happy you make me?"

Hope licked her lips. "And I'll show _you_ how much I love _you_ , and how happy _you_ make _me_ ,"

They grinned at each other.

Aiden then clapped to turn off the lights, for they had a special feature installed exactly for times like this. Then, he kissed his wife, whom he loved more than life itself.

Hope kissed her husband in return, whom she also loved more than life itself, and soon, they were making love, and proving to each other that they were and always would be the only one for the other. After all, they were soulmates.

 _ ***And they lived happily ever after, the end.***_


End file.
